Smith’s to open $225M distribution center in North Las Vegas

The grocery distribution center will be operated by Smith’s. It’s set to open in the fall and will be 885,000 square feet in size. It will also add 250 jobs to the area, according to a joint news release from Smith’s and the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance.

The center will send food and other grocery items to Smith’s across Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Southern Utah.

Smith’s, which is owned by Kroger Co., touted the distribution center as a tool to more quickly get fresh produce and other products to the nearly 450,000 customers that go to Smith’s locations in the area that will be serviced by this center.

“The full-line distribution center in North Las Vegas makes it possible to house and distribute fresh products from within the state, which means the products get to our customers even quicker,” Kenny Kimball, a senior vice president at Kroger and president of Smith’s, said in a statement.

Smith’s worked with the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance over the past year on incentives and site selection for this distribution center, according to the announcement.

“Southern Nevada’s business-friendly environment, low cost of doing business and access to 61 million people in one day’s drive prove our area is an ideal place for logistics operations to grow and thrive,” said Bill Arent, the chief business development officer for the LVGEA, in a statement.

Kroger received just under $3.8 million in tax abatements for the distribution center. In its application, the grocery chain stated the average wage of the jobs at the distribution center would be $26.53 per hour, according to documents submitted to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

The Apex Industrial Park in North Las Vegas encompasses 18,000 acres off Interstate 15 at U.S. Highway 93, though only a small portion — 1,000 acres — has been used so far, with another 1,000 acres in development.

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on Twitter.