Giant Breaks Ground on 370,000-SF Distribution Center

JESSUP, MD-Landover, MD-based Giant Food Inc. has broken ground on a 370,000-sf distribution center, which will occupy a 73-acre parcel along Dorsey Run Road in Howard County. Development of the new facility–which is scheduled to debut in the summer of 2003–is expected to cost upwards of a reported $45 million, and will replace the supermarket chain’s current 45-year-old perishables distribution center on the site of the company’s Prince George’s County corporate headquarters.

Giant’s decision to build in Jessup came as a disappointment to Prince George’s County officials who objected to the idea of losing the 550 employment openings the facility will ultimately offer. While the company has not disclosed the cost of the entire site the building will occupy, Howard County records show Giant recently acquired a 46-acre plot on Dorsey Run from the Exeter Corporation for $9.6 million, indicating that a solid 73-acre purchase could have cost about $15 million.