Kroger DC

Kroger to build $175M distribution center

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Jim Callaway

Rodney McMullen is the CEO of Kroger Co., which is building a $250 million distribution center in suburban Atlanta.

Kroger Co. has agreed to a deal to build an enormous $175 million distribution center in suburban Atlanta.

Cincinnati-based supermarket giant Kroger has agreed to build a distribution center in Forest Park, about nine miles south of Atlanta and just east of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal’s office said. Kroger plans to open it by September 2015.

Kroger (NYSE: KR) expects to hire between 700 and 900 skilled workers when it opens the facility, Forest Park City Manager Frank Brandon told the Clayton News Daily. It plans to ultimately increase employment to 1,500.

Gov. Deal’s office said Kroger will create 120 jobs in Clayton County. The distribution center is a relocation from existing facilities, so not all of the jobs are newly created.

Kroger’s distribution center will include a 1 million-square-foot plant on 253 acres as part of a planned redevelopment of former U.S. Army base Fort Gillem. The center will service Kroger operations in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Kroger will add jobs in warehouse, security, transportation management and other maintenance positions.

Kroger employs 375,000 people. It operates 2,640 supermarkets in 34 states and the District of Columbia, in addition to distribution centers it operates around the country.

Kroger’s stock has been the top performer among Cincinnati public companies so far this year, rising 20 percent through Thursday. It fell 77 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $47.24 on Thursday.