Costco’s planned move from west Fresno to northwest Fresno was unanimously approved by the Fresno City Council on Thursday.
As part of the deal, Costco will cover the cost for various road improvements in the area to assuage concerns about traffic.
The backstory: Costo initially appeared in front of the council last month, proposing to move its long-time location on W. Shaw Ave. to W. Herndon Ave. and N. Riverside Dr.
- But at the time the council had a number of concerns related to the expected increase in traffic to northwest Fresno along Herndon if the bulk retailer relocated, causing the city to press pause on the project for six weeks to find a solution.
The big picture: Per the deal, Costco will install an all-way stop control at the intersection of W. Spruce and N. Hayes Avenues, along with a two-way to four-way stop in all directions with high visibility crosswalks.
- Costo will install refuge islands at the east end of Riverside Golf Course for the W. Spruce Ave. connection and near the intersection of W. Spruce and N. Sandrini avenues to provide traffic calming measures.
- All Costco-related trucks will be banned from using N. Riverside Dr., and Costco will be required to cover the costs to resurface and restripe the westbound lanes on W. Herndon Ave.
- Costco will also add 20 more accessible parking stalls, bringing the total to 45.
Go deeper: The new Costco will total nearly 220,000 in total square feet for the warehouse and include a car wash, a feature that is only in a small number of Costco stores nationwide.
- The gas station will have 32 fuel pumps, and there will be 873 total parking stalls.
- Costco said it plans to start construction in the fall and open in the summer of 2025.
What they’re saying: “I think we’ve come a long way since our last meeting,” Councilman Mike Karbassi said. “We’ve had an opportunity to – in an exhaustive way – evaluate all kinds of information and data to make an to informed decision in the interests of working families and more jobs, at the same time preserving the neighborhood for all the residents that live there.”
