Featured Illustration (above): Rendering of a new Costco Wholesale proposed for north Georgetown. Image: MG2
Posted: 11-13-19
By Edmond Ortiz
Georgetown (Williamson County)— Retail giant Costco Wholesale plans to open its first Georgetown wholesale membership warehouse on an undeveloped 34-acre tract in the north part of the city.
The new 157,931-square-foot store/warehouse will include an attached 5,300-square-foot tire center, and spaces for liquor sales and optical exams that are both standard features in Costco facilities. The liquor sales “pod” will measure 3,862 square feet; the eye exam room will be 718 square feet.
Additionally, there will be a free-standing, 24-position fueling complex on site, a property on the northwest corner of Lakeway Drive and Interstate 35. The fueling facility will have a 8,127-square-foot canopy expandable to 11,655 square feet.
Altogether, the store/warehouse and fueling complex will employ 200 to 250 part- and full-timers.
Costco Wholesale has been going through Georgetown’s planning and zoning process. The company applied for Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning for the property, which is currently zoned for general commercial.
The PUD site plan includes two detention areas and two new roadways. There is surplus land on the site for future commercial/retail development.
Plans also call for 753 parking spaces.
A letter of intent submitted by Costco to the city states, “The warehouse design is a timeless solution utilizing sustainable materials in a rich color palette of warm grey, browns and beige.”
The project documents on file with the city do not contain the estimated construction cost or schedule.
Costco uses a standard store-construction system that utilizes offsite-manufactured walls filled with a layer of polyurethane foam flanked by heavy-gauge steel on the outside, and lighter-gauge steel on the inside.
Seattle-based Weisman Design Group is doing the landscape design. Dallas-based Winkelmann & Associates is the engineer. Seattle firm MG2 is the architectural designer.
The area surrounding the planned Costco site is evolving into an industrial/mass employment region, according to a city staff’s report on the project. Existing nearby developments include Georgetown Airport and Holt Cat.
The city’s Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval of the rezoning. The City Council was expected to consider a first reading of the rezoning Nov. 12, and a second reading on Nov. 26.
edmond@virtualbx.com
