Trader Joe’s new Kentucky distribution center

Trader Joe’s is planning to build a warehousing, distribution, and cold storage facility in Franklin, Ky., which could lead to its first retail outlet in the state’s south-central region, the Bowling Green Daily News reported.

Four months after being approved for state tax incentives, Trader Joe’s purchased 160 acres in an industrial park and is investing $260 million in a three-building, 1 million-square-foot campus which is reportedly the largest economic development project in the history of Simpson County.

Plans call for building sizes of 650,000, 250,000, and 100,000 square feet and for the largest building to be operational before year end. The complex will employ nearly 900 persons, the publication said.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority last September approved Trader Joe’s for $500,000 in tax incentives, based on the company meeting employment goals over a 10-year period, the Bowling Green Daily News said.

“Their investment in our community will be the largest to date in terms of size, dollars invested, and employment,” Franklin-Simpson Industrial Authority Executive Director Dennis Griffin said. “Trader Joe’s brings some much-needed diversity to our industrial base.”

In conjunction with the project, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is investing $2.4 million in road improvements and the installation of a traffic light, the publication said.

Griffin said Trader Joe’s looked at potential sites in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky before landing in Simpson County, which is among the state’s fastest-growing counties.

Kentucky currently has three Trader Joe’s outlets operating in Louisville, Lexington, and Crestview Hills, and Griffin speculated that the facility could have benefits beyond employment at the site itself, which might include the opening of additional retail outlets.

Monrovia, Calif.-based Trader Joe’s has more than 560 stores in 42 states and the District of Columbia.