Costco making plans to build in Brentwood

Big-box giant Costco could be coming to Brentwood.

The national retailer recently submitted an application to Brentwood’s planning department in hopes of locating a store in the Lone Tree Plaza Shopping Center in west Brentwood near the Antioch border. The closest Costco is 8.4 miles away in north Antioch on Verne Roberts Circle.

City Manager Tim Ogden called the proposal “an exciting” project, noting the application is in the review stage now.

Ogden said the City Council removed a prohibition against big-box retail in 2020.

“Staff then reached out to Costco directly to find the best site available for them,” he said. “Our vision for the area remains office business park and high-density residential per the City Council approved Specific Plan.”

Costco officials could not be reached for comment, but according to the application, the 152,000-square-foot warehouse and gasoline station is being proposed for a vacant lot on a site owned by Centre Pointe Associates, located just south of Lone Tree Plaza Drive near Kohl’s and Home Depot in Brentwood.

To alleviate traffic concerns in the area, the city had already been in the process of designing the Sand Creek Road extension to Heidorn Ranch Road, according to a post on the city Facebook page.

Other improvements are also planned. These include the installation of one driveway access point along the boundary of the two parcels that run north/south. No other development is currently proposed at this part of the 23.06-acre site, according to the city.

While the pandemic has seen many retailers pulling back on physical stores, Costco has been doing the opposite, with its CFO Richard Galanti announcing in December the company’s plans to open more than 20 warehouses in the coming year.

For the 18 weeks ended Jan. 2, Costco reported net sales of $76.34 billion, an increase of 16.6% from last year.

Costco currently operates 828 warehouses, including 572 in the United States and Puerto Rico.

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