Costco set to open in St. Charles on Friday
The doors of the hotly-pursued new Costco store in St. Charles will open to public at 8 a.m. Friday.
The 148,000-square-foot warehouse store is expected by city officials to be the long-awaited crown jewel of the western gateway of the community, an area that's been a bit of a retail disappointment for the city in the past.
Costco opens Friday on the heels of company reports that sales have been strong even during the sluggish economy as shoppers buy more in bulk in an effort to save a few bucks.
That's good news for St. Charles as the city has already tied up some $8.1 million in sales tax and infrastructure incentives to lure the store to town after development stagnated at the intersection of Route 64 and Randall Road.
Much of the initial sales tax gains the city hopes to reap from Costco itself won't come until at least six years from now. The city will refund up to $7.5 million in sales tax receipts from the store in coming years to pay off the cash the city kicked in upfront to help Costco buy the land it sits on.
The better sales are at the store, the faster the upfront money is repaid and the sooner the city reaps the full benefits. If the store tanks, Costco is still on the hook to pay the money back.
City officials expect the store will draw shoppers from other communities to the city, benefiting other businesses and spurring further retail development. The nearest Costco to the St. Charles site is about 16 miles away in Naperville. The Lake in the Hills store is about 20 miles away.
Mayor Don DeWitte said it's taken eight years to usher Costco into St. Charles, but the opening is a sign the city is thriving and growing even in a bad economy.
"Costco coming to our business community is a real coup," DeWitte said. "Our Randall Road corridor had been vacant far too long, based on outdated philosophy. We brought in not only a progressive, but an aggressive commercial development philosophy for this. When the city manager from North Aurora tells me that she's got neighbors that can't wait for Costco to open, you know you've really got something."