Officials weigh in on new multi-million Dollar General distribution center

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- Bowling Green has become a popular place for economic development and the community continues to grow. Dollar General announced plans Wednesday to build a $26 million distribution center in Bowling Green. 

The 160,000-square-foot cold storage facility will be located in the Kentucky Transpark.

Dollar General picks locations for its distribution centers based on factors like proximity to highways such as Interstate 65, local business environments and nearby Dollar General stores. There are over a dozen stores in Bowling Green alone and over 500 in Kentucky.

President and chief executive officer of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce Ron Bunch said the new operation will do wonders for the workforce and create more than just the 65 direct jobs in the center.

“There will also be quite a number of other jobs that are created and supported in our economy because of it. And it’s these kinds of companies like Dollar General, you know when they invest and create jobs, lift up many other economic sectors,” said Bunch.

Warren County has an equipped workforce community for this project, as Warren County Magistrate Doug Gorman explained.

“We have a great workforce, we have a great welcoming community, and we have people that want to work and they’re gonna get after it and work. So when you have something like this, a company that wants to be successful and they’ve gotta be, we’re centrally located, we’re great interstate access, so especially for a distribution center it makes sense,” said Gorman.

The distribution center breaking ground in Bowling Green is especially unique for the community as a whole. 

“I think the other thing that’s special about this project is Dollar General got started in our region, so it’s a brand name where people know the family that started Dollar General, they’re still involved in the community. So I think it has a special ring in the region too to have this move forward,” said Bunch.

The center is expected to create an estimated $70 million dollar economic impact in the area over the next 10 years.