The governor of North Carolina, the mayor of Greensboro, the chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and other local leaders, economic development officials and members of the business community were on hand on Thursday, Feb. 27 for the ground-breaking of the coming Publix Distribution Center in east Greensboro.

NC Gov. Roy Cooper was the highest-ranking person in attendance for the event honoring the symbolic beginning of Publix’s new refrigerated distribution center. The center, which will be over 940,000 square feet, is expected to create about 1,000 jobs by 2025.

The Greensboro facility will be Publix’s 10th distribution center for the supermarket chain – joining Florida locations in Boynton Beach, Deerfield Beach, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Miami, Orlando and Sarasota, as well as in Lawrenceville, Georgia and McCalla, Alabama.

At the event, Cooper said he appreciated the fact that Publix had chosen “to grow jobs and put down stronger roots” in Guilford County, the region and the state.

“North Carolina will continue to strengthen our workforce to attract more good jobs here in our state,” the governor said.

The project is meant in part to support more efficient delivery of refrigerated products to Publix locations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. It will take about two years to complete construction.

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Jeff Phillips began his remarks by calling this “a great day for Guilford County and the Triad region.”

Phillips joked that it might come as a shock to some people to find out that the nine-member Board of Commissioners doesn’t always agree on everything, but he said the entire board was “all in” when it was asked to help support Publix’s $400-million investment in the county.

Phillips also said that Publix was an excellent corporate citizen that had a strong track record of helping non-profits, homeless shelters and other good causes.

At the event, Publix presented donations to two local nonprofits – BackPack Beginnings and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina – to help fight hunger.

“Publix believes in being engaged in our communities,” said Publix Director of Communications Maria Brous. “As a food retailer, we are focused on alleviating hunger in the communities we serve and are proud to support organizations providing food to those in need.”

There was also a great deal of delicious food on hand for those attending the ground-breaking.