COSTCO BEGINS TO CLEAR LAND FOR NEW DULUTH LOCATION

Costco Wholesale will soon begin construction on their long planned Duluth location.

After years in the making (no seriously, we reported on it in 2014), Costco has started to clear land at the northwest corner of Haines Road and W Arrowhead Road. The 53.78-acre site, which Costco purchased last month for $2.35 million, will eventually be home to a 161,000 square foot building, 725 parking spaces and a gas station.

A number of infrastructure improvements will take place as a part of the project including a reworked intersection and designated turn lanes. The City of Duluth will provide $1.35 million in tax abatement financing while the St. Louis County Board will provide an additional $650,000 in tax abatement financing. The $2 million in financing will be used strictly for the infrastructure improvements, not the physical construction of Costco.

Rendering of the planned Duluth Costco location.

As mentioned above, we first reported on Costco scouting out a Duluth location almost six years ago. The company spent years looking for the right spot for their first Twin Ports location and finally landed on a site at the corner of Haines and Arrowhead earlier this year.

Then abruptly after months of working with the city, Costco cancelled their purchase agreement for the site. Costco stated that the cancellation was due to high construction bids, a city ordinance along with the inability to get permit and financial approvals. At that point it was a question of not only if Costco would choose a new site to build on (potentially outside of Duluth), but also if they would build at all.

But, good news, everything worked out in the end.

Now much of the site that Costco will eventually call home has been cleared of trees with construction on the new warehouse expected to begin within the next 60 days. Costco will eventually employ around 100 people in both full and part time roles. Some positions have already begun to be posted for the new location such as this Optometrist position.

Costco is anticipated to open in spring of 2021.