What new WA documents reveal about 2nd Tri-Cities Costco and when it might open
The Tri-Cities is getting close to welcoming its long-awaited second Costco Wholesale store.
The Issaquah-based wholesale giant is finalizing a lease for 20 acres at Richland’s Queensgate area with the Washington state Department of Natural Resources.
State planning documents posted online this week say Costco could break ground this summer and open in August 2025.
Lease negotiations started in mid-2023 and took a public week when DNR submitted the proposal for review under the State Environmental Policy Act or SEPA.
A spokeswoman explained that the review suggests the Costco deal is almost but not quite final.
“The SEPA needs to be completed before we can enter into a lease, so the SEPA is indicating that we are beginning the leasing action with them. We are still negotiating terms and will not have a final lease document for several weeks,” Courtney James, spokeswoman for DNR, told the Tri-City Herald on Thursday.
16-pump gas station
The review documents are the latest public affirmation that Costco plans a second Tri-Cities location to relieve crowding at its bustling Kennewick store.
Documents offer more detail about Costco and its future neighborhood than previously known.
DNR will dedicate an easement to the city of Richland to support future road access to 330 acres in the former Chiawana Orchard, which was removed several years ago to make way for commercial development.
DNR manages public lands to benefit public schools. It will start by carving the initial 30 acres into eight parcels, with Costco slated to sign a long-term lease for 20.4 acres at the corner of Kennedy Road and Truman Avenue.
The remaining property will be developed into seven much smaller lots for future development. There are no firm plans beyond Costco.
Costco will build a 183,688-square-foot building, with about 151,000 square feet dedicated to selling space. The remaining space will support utilities, shipping and receiving docks and other support activities.
The current Costco in Kennewick is a total of 155,000 square feet.
The store will have a gas station with 16 pumps, three 40,000-gallon underground gasoline tanks, one 1,500-gallon underground fuel additive tank and a 12,537-square-foot canopy.
Construction would take about a year.
Top Tri-Cities priority
A second Costco has long been a priority for Tri-Citians.
In June 2023, the Tri-City Herald confirmed Costco was negotiating with DNR to lease land at Queensgate for its second Tri-Cities store.
At the time, unfounded rumors were swirling that it was considering a site closer to Interstate 82.
Costco was previously linked to Pasco’s Broadmoor area, but backed out of plans to be part of the area’s future development for reasons that have not been publicly confirmed.
That apparently sent it looking to Richland to provide relief to its busy Kennewick location. it settled on the DNR-owned property behind the Target-anchored shopping center called Vintner Square.
Costco offered to lease the property — DNR rarely sells — but asked for the right to purchase in its offer letter to the state agency.
The company offered to lease about 28 acres for $400,000 annually in the first five years of a 55-year period, rising to about $585,600 in Years 21-25.
It isn’t yet clear why it is now considering a smaller site.
While the final terms won’t be known until the deal is finished and in the public record, Costco’s initial offer would have generated $12.2 million for DNR in the first 25 years.
Star power
The mere suggestion of a Costco at Queensgate is already shaping development in the area.
In December, the Richland City Council raised traffic impact fees based in part on a case study involving an unnamed warehouse store at Queensgate that was clearly a reference to Costco.
Real estate brokers have highlighted the future Costco to tenants for nearby buildings.
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