Gov. Kay Ivey joined Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Coca-Cola United Bottling Co. CEO Mike Suco and other officials Thursday for the ceremonial groundbreaking on a $330 million new campus for Coca Cola United in Birmingham.

“This new campus will create jobs and secure existing ones, further boosting our economy,” Ivey said. “Let’s celebrate by getting some dirt turned and drink some Coke.”

Coca Cola officials passed out 8 oz. glass bottles of Coke for a ceremonial toast on the grounds of the former Stockham Valve property alongside Interstate 20/59 at the Tallapoosa Street exit.

Construction will take three years to complete.

When it moves to the new campus in 2027, the new facility will retain 750 jobs and add up to 50 more.

The new headquarters for the Coca-Cola Bottling United Co. is expected to become a landmark entranceway to the City of Birmingham.

It’s one of the largest investments by a private company in Birmingham history.

Coca-Cola United was founded in 1902 at 109 North 24th Street in Birmingham after Crawford T. Johnson Sr. moved from Chattanooga to start the Birmingham Coca Cola Bottling Co. with franchise rights he’d bought from bottlers in Tennessee.