Deal to bring new bottler to ex-Ocean Spray plant

A developer of former industrial spaces announced Tuesday that it will soon finalize a deal to purchase the closed Ocean Spray plant in Bordentown and that it already has lined up its first tenant - another beverage bottler.

Modern Recycled Spaces of Hamilton, Mercer County, has reached an agreement valued "in excess of $10 million" with the Ocean Spray cooperative to buy the 480,000-square-foot plant, said Daniel Popkin, the developer. He said settlement is expected to be this month.

After seven decades, Ocean Spray moved its juice processing and bottling operation in August to Upper Macungie Township, Pa., near Allentown. The company had produced about 30 million cases of cranberry juice a year at Bordentown, and its spokesperson said it needed a more modern facility.

Popkin said Bai Brands recently signed a long-term lease to use 225,000 square feet at the plant as a warehouse and distribution center. Bai produces and distributes "healthy, all-natural, five-calorie, antioxidant infusions," according to its website.

Bai sells a variety of sparkling and flavored waters under that brand name, said Michael Simon, the company's chief marketing officer. "Molokai coconut and Brazilian blueberry are the top two drinks" and are sold in many supermarkets and other outlets around the country, he said.

Instead of cranberries, Bai uses the red berry casing of the coffee bean, which in the past was considered a by-product, as an antioxidant.

Simon said Bai plans to move about 50 employees from its Hamilton headquarters this summer to Bordentown and to create 50 to 70 more jobs at the new distribution center within the next year.

In 2014, the company had about $48 million in sales, and it is projecting about $125 million this year, Simon said, noting it has partnered with DrPepperSnapple Group Inc. to begin "filling in the gaps in distribution across the county."

Currently, Bai partners with New Jersey and Pennsylvania companies to produce the drinks, he said. The business was launched six years ago and has been steadily growing, he said.

Popkin also said he was in talks with a brewer who is interested in opening a facility at the plant. He also would like to attract an upscale grocer, a yoga studio, other businesses, and possibly a housing developer to build on the 50-acre site.

"It's a fabulous partnership between Bai and Recycled Spaces," Popkin said, noting the two companies also have a business venture in Hamilton.

Mayor Joe Malone said he was thrilled that another New Jersey beverage company was planning to open in the closed plant and to create jobs. He said there are discussions with Burlington County and state officials to consider offering the developer tax and other business incentives.

"Clearly we'll have parts of this facility open within a year of closing, and that's pretty significant," he said. "We're very impressed and are looking at this thing as a big positive."

Recycled Spaces' mission is to take old factories and warehouses and repurpose them as art studios, new businesses, and storage spaces.

Popkin said Bai plans to do "mostly cosmetic renovations" to the plant before moving in and opening for business. He said the plant will be renamed the Food and Produce Centre in a nod to the history of cranberry juice production at that location and to the agricultural roots of the county.

In an e-mail, an Ocean Spray spokeswoman confirmed that an agreement was in the works. She provided no details but added, "Bordentown will always be an important part of Ocean Spray's story, and we are excited for the city's future."

She said about 100 employees transferred to the Lehigh Valley plant after Ocean Spray announced the Bordentown plant's closing in 2011 and gradually shut down operations.

Simon said some of the remaining 100 or more employees who were laid off during the move might be hired when Bai opens in Bordentown.

"We have already hired three of them," he said. "There's a great workforce already there, and we're looking to see if some of the old Ocean Spray employees would be available, because they may be a good fit."