City HallWednesday, November 4
Cape Coral council approves a $10 million incentive package for a planned Costco
The 5AM Cape Coral team
If you're tired of crossing the Caloosahatchee for Costco, Cape Coral is getting its own. City Council approved a $10 million incentive package Monday for a warehouse at 600 Chiquita Blvd. S., near Pine Island Road. The vote was 7-1, with Keith Long dissenting.
City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn said the site's soil compaction creates a higher-than-usual barrier to entry, so the package includes an Enhanced Property Value Recapture Grant of up to $8 million. “If we don’t step in to help bridge that gap, they walk away,” he said. The city announced the store Oct. 27 as Costco's first warehouse in Cape Coral.
- Payout: over a 25-year performance period
- Jobs: about 300, per Council member Jennifer Nelson-Lastra
- Site: about 53 acres, including about 30 acres of retention pond
The planned warehouse would cover 165,000 square feet
Floor area of the planned Costco warehouse, beside places you know
3 football fields would fit inside the planned Costco warehouse
Sources: Detroit Free Press, Gulfshore Business
View as table
| Floor area | |
|---|---|
| The planned Costco warehouse | 165,000 sq. ft. (Plus a gas station) |
| A football field | 57,600 sq. ft. (end zones included) |
| A Walmart Supercenter | about 180,000 sq. ft. |
Economic development officials and brokers describe Costco as a magnet capable of attracting additional investment. Neither the city nor Costco owns the site, and Costco did not respond to messages seeking comment.