Dollar General Distribution Center Coming To Union County

UNION, S.C. -- An Upstate county dealing with near-record unemployment received some very big news Thursday morning.

Dollar General announced plans to build a $70 million distribution center in Union County Thursday morning. The 1.1 million square-foot facility could employ as many as 600 people eventually. Officials said Dollar General's third-party transportation provider has indicated that it expects to employ approximately 125 people.

The facility could be the biggest economic boon to Union County since Walt Disney Co. built a distribution center near Jonesville in 1998. The new facility will be located on 177 acres of land near the Disney facility. Some officials said it was the biggest development since Cone Mills came to Carlisle in 1956.

Dollar General plans to begin construction in March and become operational by the middle of 2005. Officials said the facility will eventually employ 50 salaried workers earning $50,000 a year and several hundred employees earning $8 to $11 an hour.

Faith said the company chose Union County because local officials were 100 percent committed to the project. Union County's unemployment rate is more than 11 percent.

"Its not a cure-all -- there will be no economic development project that's a cure-all -- but I think this is a giant step forward that will make a difference in people's lives and put bread on the table," Gov. Mark Sanford said.

"The support and enthusiasm of the local, county and state organizations involved in this project as well as the strong labor force contributed greatly to our decision to come to Union County, South Carolina. This state is poised for tremendous growth, and we are excited to contribute through the construction of this state-of-the-art facility," Dollar General distribution vice president Jeff Sims said in a release.

Dollar General, based in Goodlettsville, Tenn., has more than 6,000 stores and seven distribution centers in 27 states. Officials announced in January that a distribution center in Oklahoma would expand. The Union County site was chosen from among 54 possible locations.

"We want to have an impact here. We want to be good citizens, and we're coming here, because of what we think is an outstanding work force," Sims said.