Council passes Costco deal

Last edited 8:29 a.m., June 17, 2020

Springfield City Council last night approved a $4.8 million deal to bring Costco Wholesale Corp. (Nasdaq: COST) to the market.

The access and infrastructure agreement requires the city to reimburse Costco for public infrastructure improvements made to an 18-acre development site on the corner of U.S. Highway 65 and Chestnut Expressway. All council members present voted in favor of the deal, with Councilman Mike Schilling absent.

Costco’s plans to enter Springfield were dependent on council passing the infrastructure deal, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

The site plans call for relocating Eastgate Avenue, extending Olive Street and making traffic signal modifications and stormwater improvements. The costs are slated to be repaid to Costco over a 15-year period through half of the 1% general sales tax, quarter-cent capital improvements sales taxes and eighth-cent transportation sales taxes generated by the store, according to past reporting.

Costco site selector Mike Stratis said at the June 1 council meeting that, if approved, the company planned to finalize the land deal in September and complete infrastructure improvements by April 2021. Burks Development Corp. owns the land, as well as an adjacent 32 acres that is set to be developed as Kirkland Commons, according to city documents.

The Costco store is slated to open by August 2021 and create at least 125 jobs with an average hourly wage of $25.50, according to past reporting.

Councilman Matt Simpson yesterday said he supported the deal and expressed excitement in Costco’s plans to offer wages higher than the current average wage. In December 2019, the state’s minimum wage bumped to $9.45 per hour. According to 2019 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the average hourly wage in Springfield was $20.51.

Mayor Ken McClure and Councilman Richard Ollis both said Costco’s arrival is a positive move for the community.

“Costco is a bellwether sign that Springfield has arrived to a certain point,” said Ollis. “I look forward to not only the arrival of Costco, which I think is a big deal for our community, but it also sets us up for future expansion and future businesses to locate, as well.”