Golden's Coors Brewing plant is about to get a major upgrade.

On Oct. 6, Coors held a groundbreaking event in front of the plant where Peter J. Coors, the son of Molson Coors vice chairman Pete Coors, announced that the brewery will be undertaking a significant project to replace the brewery's fermenting, aging, filtration and government cellars, which date back to the 1950s.

“This will make us much more competitive with our breweries across the network," Peter Coors said.

The new facilities will be constructed on space currently occupied by cooling ponds and parking lots at the front of the current plant and extend to just before the plant's wellness center to the west.

“To give you an idea of the size of the project, it is going to be about 200,000 feet under roof, there's going to be about 45 miles of pipe and about 150 miles of wire that's going to be put into this building,” said Peter.

As part of the project, Coors will also be constructing a large structure to control flooding on Clear Creek. Peter Coors said the brewery has worked with both the city of Golden and Jefferson County as it planned the new flood structure “to make sure it will benefit both the brewery and community.”

Peter said construction on the project will be starting shortly with the company targeting to have its first beer get to the cellar in 2023, the year of Coors' 150th birthday. The company hopes to have the project fully completed in 2024.

At its peak, 500 contractors will be working on-site at the plant.

“We are very excited for the start of this project and to be able to welcome all of the workers who will be coming every day right here to work and will be able to have the opportunity to visit our wonderful fantastic merchants and discover the wonderful goods and services that they have to offer,” said Golden Mayor Laura Weinberg.

Weinberg also praised the improved sustainability that Peter Coors touted will result from the project. He said the new state of the art facilities will allow the plant to reduce its water usage by 100 million gallons a year, reduce energy use by 15% and reduce beer waste by 25%.

Peter Coors also said the company has no plans to tear down the structures that will be replaced by the addition and has not yet determined what it will ultimately do with them.

Coors was motivated to undertake the project, which Peter Coors said will cost hundreds of millions, because the cellars and other facilities that are being replaced were 50-plus years old.

“We made the decision that instead of investing in old assets we would invest invest in new ones that would give us advantages from both a waste and a sustainability perspective,” he said.

Peter Coors also said that while the brewery does not anticipate that the project will lead the brewery to significantly increase the amount of beer it brews, the new space will provide the brewery flexibility to manufacture more Molson-Coors products than it currently can.

Jeffco Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper also praised the impact the project would have on the entire county.

“The new jobs that come with this project couldn't come at a more crucial time,” Dahlkemper said. “Many of the companies working on the project are state and locally based. And nearly all the labor and sourcing materials are also locally and be based. So that means that investment in our community and an investment in our people.”