Thorntons to Spend $28M on Headquarters Relocation

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Thorntons Inc. was preliminarily approved Thursday for $2 million in state tax incentives by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA), as the convenience chain retailer intends to expand its Louisville headquarters and add 110 jobs over a 10-year period.

In a news release, Thorntons said it will move from its current 46,000-square-foot facility to a 92,500-square-foot center on Old Henry Road. Construction is slated to begin later this year. 

According to the company’s KEDFA filing, it plans to invest $27.8 million to expand its corporate headquarters on Linn Station Road in the Plainview area, Louisville Business First reported.

Incentives would be provided through the authority’s Kentucky Business Investment program, a performance-based program that allows a company to keep a portion of its investment if it meets hiring goals.

Thorntons was also approved for another $600,000 in incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act, which allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky taxes levied on equipment spending.

“We are proud to call Louisville our hometown and we’re excited about expanding our Store Support Center in Louisville,” CEO Matt Thornton said in the release. “The Louisville community has been very good to us over the years, and we couldn’t think of a better place from which to grow our business.”

In its KEDFA filing, the company said it plans to invest $6 million on land, $19.8 million on facility and building improvements, $560,000 in equipment and $482,000 in other startup costs.

"Due to the company's growth, it is no longer operating efficiently out of its current space and is evaluating alternative real estate options for the proposed expansion of its headquarters," the filing said.

Additionally, Thornton’s said it will create 28 new jobs in the first year after the expansion and a total of 46 jobs by the second year. That number will grow annually until the 110-job goal was reach. The new jobs are expected to pay an average $40 hourly wage, including employee benefits, according to the KEDFA filing. 

“In addition to their traditional fuel business, we are beyond excited that Thorntons is entering into a new food market with their fresh foods division that will add to Louisville’s growing strength in the food and beverage sector,” said Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, chief of Louisville Forward, the city's economic development department, in the release.

Louisville, Ky.-based Thorntons operates 181 stores in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Florida.