Target to build regional distribution center in Georgia

<p>Georgia is expected to gain as many as 800 new jobs when Target Corp. builds a new, 1.5 million square foot distribution center in Midway, Gov. Sonny Perdue said Wednesday.</p><p>The new center is expected to create 450 jobs when it opens in summer 2007 and eventually will employ as many as 800. Hiring will begin in early 2007.</p><p>"Southeast Georgia will see new jobs and economic growth, thanks to the new Target distribution center," Perdue said. "As a member of the Georgia business community, Target understands that this is a great place to do business."</p><p>Construction is expected to begin this fall at the MidCoast Business Center in Midway, about 27 miles south of Savannah on the Georgia coast.</p><p>Mitch Stover, senior vice president with Target Corp., said Midway's location and the available work force in southeast Georgia made the location attractive to the company.</p><p>The site is adjacent to Interstate 95, a convenient location for the company to receive shipments from suppliers and ship products directly to Target stores.</p><p>"Midway was an ideal location," said Stover. "We look forward to building a long-lasting relationship with the Midway community."</p><p>Local officials welcomed the announcement.</p><p>"It's just critically important, one of the best announcements we've had in years," said Rep. Al Williams, D-Hinesville, who represents Liberty County. "Anytime you're talking about 400 or 500 jobs in a community our size, you're really making a significant impact on the community."</p><p>State and local officials had been in negotiations with Target as early as 2002 about bringing the center to Georgia.</p><p>Minneapolis-based Target is one of the nation's largest retailers, with 1,308 stores in 47 states. The company has 25 distribution centers in 23 states.</p><p>A regional distribution center in Tifton already employs about 800 people. Staffing and workload at that center will not be affected by the new center in Midway, company officials said.</p>