Costco Wholesale has bought a big chunk of land in southeast Redmond, for a warehouse expected to open in the second half of 2016.
Costco Wholesale has bought a big chunk of land in southeast Redmond, as it ressurects a project for a warehouse there that was shelved six years ago and is now expected to open next year.
King County records on Friday showed two parcels totaling 15.4 acres, in an area south of Union Hill Road, were sold to Costco on July 27 for $16 million. A person familiar with the development said a new Costco warehouse would open in that location in the early summer or the late fall of 2016.
A spokeswoman for the city of Redmond said it had received a permit application from Costco, but declined further comment. The city’s planning department didn’t immediately provide records.
The land purchase is the latest move in a long but unfulfilled flirtation between the warehouse club giant and the Eastside city.
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In 1991, Costco spent $12.55 million on a site near the end of Highway 520, but three years later it dropped plans to open a warehouse and move its headquarters there.
In 2009, as the recession raged, the Redmond City Council approved plans for a Costco warehouse on the site the company purchased this week. But a deal for the vacant property was not concluded until now.
The property is at the corner of Northeast 76th Street and Northeast 188th Avenue. It’s across the street from a gravel pit, and is surrounded by industrial, office and retail locations. To the west is a retail cluster that contains Target, Home Depot, Kohl’s and Whole Foods Market stores.