Grocery store giant Kroger plans to build a high-tech customer fulfillment center in Concord. In a news release, Kroger, the parent company of Matthews-based Harris Teeter, says the move will bring about 700 jobs to Cabarrus County.
Kroger and its technology partner, the Ocado Group, will invest more than $100 million in the 200,000-square-foot facility. The exact location is expected to be revealed Friday with notices for public hearings later this month.
Kroger says the average annual pay, including benefits, for the new jobs will be above the Cabarrus County average salary of roughly $41,000.
“It’s been many, many months that we’ve been working with the Kroger team in collaboration with the city of Concord and Cabarrus County and the state officials,” said Page Castrodale, executive director of the Cabarrus Economic Development Commission. “It is an exciting day for us. Seven hundred jobs is a huge number, and it’s a great way to end the year.”
Kroger will receive a grant of up to $2.3 million if it meets jobs and investment goals. It also received $1.2 million in incentives from Cabarrus County and nearly $800,000 from the city of Concord
Kroger says the planned fulfillment center is part of a growing delivery business that uses robotics to deliver fresh food to consumers.
“Basically, they will be able to deliver groceries within a 90-mile radius directly to consumers, so whether that’s going from this facility to the consumer or from this facility to another smaller facility that would then go out directly out to the consumers,” Castrodale said. "So, it’s a very innovative process and one that we’re excited to see in Cabarrus County”
Kroger officials say the facility could be operational by 2024.
