COLLIN COUNTY, Texas (Dallas Business Journal; WFAA-TV) — Costco Wholesale Corp. plans to open three stores in Collin County next year, underscoring how major retailers are investing heavily in this booming part of the Metroplex.
The new locations will be in Celina, Prosper and Allen. The first will be off Preston Road in Celina’s The Crossing at Moore Farm, a major retail center. The opening is set for Jan. 24, according to the company’s website.
The second is scheduled to open in Prosper on March 14. Construction on the store at the northeast corner of FM 1385 and University Drive began in March. The project carried an estimated cost of $17.5 million, according to a March 2023 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. TDLR filings are often preliminary and info in them is subject to change.
The third Costco is set to open in Allen in summer 2025 at the southeast corner of Stacy Road and State Highway 121, according to a recent presentation by the Allen Economic Development Corp.
Earlier this winter, the Allen Planning and Zoning Commission rejected a proposal to change regulations within The Avenue, a planned mixed-use district at the southwest corner of Alma Drive and SH 121, to allow for a BJ’s Wholesale Club. The decision cited the proximity of the incoming Costco and the availability of other grocery stores in the area.
While these stores have been expected, news of their imminent openings is a big deal for these cities. Costco is already a major employer in Dallas-Fort Worth and is expected to create hundreds more jobs with these stores. And the big-box retailer is a major draw for shoppers.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many people the stores will hire, but the Issaquah, Washington-based retailer typically employs between 100 and 300 people per store.
Costco (Nasdaq: COST) representatives did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. However, the company has a policy of not commenting on new locations more than three months prior to opening.
These plans show how Costco is being pulled to the robust population growth north of Dallas. Celina ranked No. 1 in estimated population growth in the U.S. from 2022 to 2023, while Prosper was ninth.
Each of the three new Costco stores will span about 160,000 square feet. The locations typically attract shoppers from a wide area, which in these cases could mean residents of nearby communities including Frisco, Little Elm, Aubrey and McKinney.
Existing Costco locations in McKinney and Frisco are already operating at full capacity, driving the need for additional stores to meet demand.
Currently, Costco operates 40 stores in Texas, including 13 in Dallas-Fort Worth. Plans to open a new location in Forney are also underway after Forney City Council approved a Chapter 380 incentives agreement in July. Parker County will also get its first Costco warehouse in early 2025.
The company’s members-only warehouse stores are known for offering cheaper prices on bulk items. On Sept. 1, Costco raised membership fees from $60 to $65 per year, while executive memberships increased from $120 to $130 annually.
In addition to expanding its retail footprint, Costco in 2023 purchased a 10-story office tower along U.S. Route 75 in Dallas for $14.25 million and plans renovations for its distribution center at 3730 Mountain Creek Pkwy. in Dallas.
Costco is just one of the major retailers investing in new stores in DFW, driven by rapid job and population growth. Retail construction in the Metroplex was expected to total about 1.9 million square feet in 2024, according to a report from retail-focused real estate firm Weitzman. Many of these projects are new grocery and big-box stores, such as H-E-B, Kroger, Walmart Supercenter and Costco. Retail occupancy was 95.2% at mid-year 2024.
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