BY BILL FREEHLING
Harris Teeter has received yet another extension on its food distribution center and grocery warehouse in King George County.
Last week King George agreed to give the North Carolina-based grocer until Nov. 6 to do "due diligence" on the project, said county Economic Development Director Nicole Thompson.
The previous deadline was this past Sunday. King George has now granted Harris Teeter five extensions.
Harris Teeter announced in January that it was buying 100 acres in King George's industrial park to build a $101 million, 500,000-square-foot distribution center. The facility would create 335 jobs with an average annual wage of $38,000 plus benefits.
The grocer would get $3 million in incentives from the county and state over four years. The company was initially given 90 days to study the project before closing on the land.
Thompson said King George remains optimistic that the project will happen. But a quarterly earnings report put out by Harris Teeter parent Ruddick Corp. last month creates some doubt about it.
"While the company continues with its due diligence procedures, it is also exploring other alternatives," Ruddick said in the report. "If the new distribution center is pursued, its anticipated construction time frame is expected to be deferred beyond the original contemplated time frame of fiscal 2011 and 2012."
Ruddick's earnings report notes that Harris Teeter plans to continue the "expansion of its existing markets, including the Washington, D.C., metro market area which incorporates Northern Virginia."
But it also states that the grocer has "reduced or delayed the number of new store openings originally planned for the current year, as well as for fiscal 2010 and beyond due to the current economic environment."
Harris Teeter already has stores in Warrenton and Manassas, and it leases industrial space in two Spotsylvania County locations. It had been rumored as a possible buyer for Ukrop's Super Markets, but nothing has materialized on that.
Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com