eMacomb - Featured Article, SUMMER 2017

Chesterfield Township lands permanent Kroger/Penske distribution center

Through collaborative efforts between multiple organizations and government agencies, Macomb County landed a distribution center for Michigan’s largest grocery store chain, Kroger.

In 2015, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) was contacted by Kroger, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, to place a distribution center in Michigan. While three sites were in the running to become the permanent location, Chesterfield Township was chosen to be a temporary site until the company could complete their due diligence and decide on the permanent site.

Staff from the Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development worked closely with the MEDC and its business attraction team, the owner representative of the site and Chesterfield Township’s development team. The temporary site was approved, and Kroger began fulfilling Michigan store orders. The Chesterfield Township site distributed goods to all Michigan stores, except ones near Toledo which are serviced by another regional center.

Two years later, Kroger determined that Chesterfield Township was the best Michigan location for a long-term distribution center. A joint meeting was held with the MEDC business attraction team, Macomb County’s MEDC business development manager, Macomb County staff, Kroger representatives and Chesterfield Township supervisor and staff. Many details affecting the immediate area were discussed, difficulties shared and solutions were found.

The company will invest almost $25 million in the site requiring 377 new jobs over the next three years. The Chesterfield Township supervisor supported the project, and the MEDC offered the company a Business Development Program incentive in the amount of $2.08 million.

A job fair was marketed by the township, Michigan Works and Macomb County. Additional meetings were held which also included the local manager and Penske staff to plan the job fair details and finalize setup, layout and flow. The job fair was successfully held July 13 at the township offices with 80 applicants over a four hour time frame. More hiring will continue through Penske, Kroger’s third party warehouse management team.