WINN-DIXIE SCHEDULES DEPOT EXPANSION BY AUGUST '99

LINDA PURPURA

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Winn-Dixie Stores here will complete construction of 267,500 square feet of additional refrigerated warehouse and dock facilities at its 750,000-square-foot distribution center in Charlotte, N.C., by August 1999.

The additions will include 151,000 square feet of new zero-degree and minus 20-degree Fahrenheit freezer space, in a freestanding building with state-of-the art refrigeration controls. Nearly 20,000 square feet of new meat and produce cooler space will also be added to the facility.

New truck entrances, a product reclaim center, a salvage dock and a fleet-washing facility as well as office space are also part of the company's efforts to upgrade distribution and warehouse facilities in Charlotte. Construction on the addition began in August.

The retailer recently realigned store-supply assignments between its two Carolinas distribution centers, located in Raleigh, N.C., and Charlotte, N.C. In February, Winn-Dixie completed construction of a 1,000,000-square-foot warehouse in Raleigh, and reassigned 35 stores previously handled by the Charlotte division to Raleigh.

"This [realignment] allowed us to close an older, smaller distribution center in Greenville, S.C., and move that responsibility to Charlotte," said Harold Greene, marketing director at Winn-Dixie Charlotte. "To accommodate those stores, we are doing the expansion" in Charlotte.

Haskell Co., Jacksonville, Fla., is designing and constructing the distribution-center expansion.