GROVELAND, Fla. – The city of Groveland on Friday announced it would be seeking more than $1.4 million in repayment from Kroger over the closure of its fulfillment center.
City council members unanimously agreed to pursue the reimbursement and set a Jan. 30, 2026, deadline for Kroger to return the “incentives it received to establish a grocery distribution center at Ford Commerce Park.”
Kroger announced in mid-November it would close its facility and end delivery service in Florida by Feb. 1.
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According to the city, the incentive agreement Kroger had with the city required the 350,000-square-foot facility “create and maintain for 15 years a minimum of 60 jobs with an average annual payroll of $3.6 million.”
“The city says Kroger is in default of its agreement and must reimburse all incentives received to date, including per-job incentives and ad valorem tax rebates for tax years 2022-2024,” the city said in a release.
The city said the breakdown of the over $1.4 million is as follows:
- Job Growth Incentive = $104,000.00
- Ad Valorem Tax Rebate = $209,892.37
- Value of Impact Fees = $390,603.36
- Value of Building Permit Fees = $755,737.76
- Total = $1,460,233.49
Groveland officials said there are discussions with Kroger’s technology partner, Ocado Solutions USA Inc., who also received an incentive package and received the following incentive payments:
- Job Growth Incentive = $60,000.00
- Ad Valorem Tax Rebate = $742,917.10
- Total = $802,917.10
This comes after Kroger agreed to a termination deal with the Lake County government and reimburse the county $460,714.53 by Dec. 31.
The county had provided more than $1.3 million in incentives to Kroger and Ocado to support the facility, which employs some 1,000 people who are expected to be laid off. Once the funds are returned, the county commission will figure out what to do with that money.
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