An abandoned Pepsi factory is being turned into a massive marijuana grow

doyen elements marijuana pepsi factory 4

A former Pepsi factory that sat vacant for a decade is being reincarnated as an indoor marijuana grow — one of the largest in the pot-friendly state of Colorado.

Doyen Elements, a holding company that leases real estate properties out to legal cannabis companies, bought an old bottling plant in Pueblo County. Upon completion in 2019, the facility could potentially produce up to 70,000 pounds of marijuana flower a year.

According to a recent report in Forbes, the company is one of a growing number of real estate investment firms that are making money in legal weed without actually touching the plant.

Here's a sneak peak at the massive grow-op coming to Colorado in 2018.

For many years, the 104,000-square-foot plant at 1900 South Freeway was used for bottling Pepsi products. But the soda company — like the steel industry — left Pueblo County.

Pueblo, once an economic center of the state's plains, has struggled to recover from the steel-market crash of 1982. Its unemployment rate, at 7.2%, ranks among the highest in Colorado.

The booming legal marijuana industry could save the area from further devastation.

Since the first dispensary opened in Pueblo County in 2014, cultivation facilities, infused products manufacturers, and over 100 retailers have created more than 1,300 jobs in the industry. In 2015, more than one-third of construction projects there were tied to weed.