Chobani Puts $567M Into a Michigan Coffee Plant That Started at 40,000 Sq Ft

Muskegon County has not seen a project this size. Chobani’s expansion of the La Colombe plant in Norton Shores carries a $567 million total price tag, with a first tranche of $479 million split between $132 million of buildings and $347 million of equipment.

That ratio tells you what kind of job this is. Roughly three-quarters of the money is process equipment, which means the building is essentially a shell built to a mechanical schedule.

Project Scope

The work is phased and wraps more than 200,000 square feet around an existing plant of roughly 40,000 square feet that has been running since 2016. Phase 1’s addition is reported at 52,844 square feet. When complete the facility will run 24/7 producing ready-to-drink lattes and cold brew.

Ground broke on June 2, 2026. The project adds 337 jobs and retains 312. Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Greater Muskegon Economic Development and the City of Norton Shores are all in on incentives, and the city is funding water and wastewater capacity upgrades that the plant needs to run at the new volume. The architect and general contractor have not been publicly named.

Why It Matters

The municipal utility upgrades are the quiet story. Beverage plants are heavy water users, and a lot of the Midwest’s available industrial land is constrained by wastewater treatment capacity rather than acreage or power. Norton Shores is paying to remove that constraint, which is increasingly what economic development actually buys.

Expanding around a live line also caps how fast anyone can go. The existing plant does not stop, so tie-ins get scheduled against production, and the phasing is the schedule.

Project Team & Details