Ridgefield’s choices for shopping are set to get wider as Costco plans to put one of its retail warehouse stores just off of Interstate 5, the city announced last week.
The planned 151,000-square-foot building is part of a greater commercial development which will feature a mix of retail and food options, and will include a gas station for Costco members, a release from the city of Ridgefield stated.
The project is located at 5694 Pioneer St., on the north side of the South 56th Place roundabout and west of the I-5 junction, according to a map included with the release.
If built, the Costco will be an “anchor tenant” for the overall development. The pre-application for the overall development was received July 19, according to the release.
The release notes residents currently travel to nearby Costco stores outside of city limits. The store alone is expected to generate a minimum of $700,000 in local tax revenue and 300 to 400 jobs.
The city will work with the property owner and developers on traffic and environmental concerns, the release stated.
The new Costco location is the first phase in the Union Ridge Town Center development. That first phase, which includes the store and the gas station, will be built on about 17 of the 80 acres of the development, according to the pre-application.
Uses for the rest of the property haven’t been determined, the pre-application stated, though it provides concepts featuring a variety of retail and food-related businesses. Among the concepts are 60,000 and 30,000-square-foot retail buildings, several smaller retail and commercial spaces, five restaurants and half a dozen quick service or drive-thru restaurants. The final design and uses are pending city review.
The development includes an extension of South 56th Place north of the existing roundabout, to connect with a new road, Pioneer Canyon Drive, which will run along the south end of the Costco phase. The pre-application plans include a roundabout at that connection.
Ridgefield Mayor Jennifer Lindsay said she is excited by the potential to bring Costco to the city.
“This Costco will serve as a destination retail location for Clark County and Cowlitz County, create quality employment opportunities, and help diversify the city’s economic base to focus more on revenue from sustainable sales tax and less on residential development to support essential services,” Lindsay stated in the release.
Given the “significant public interest” in the project, the city will post updates that include when the pre-application conference is scheduled, according to the release.
As of last week, a date for the conference hadn’t been scheduled, but it’s tentatively set to happen within the next month, Ridgefield City Manager Steve Stuart said in an email. As far as a timeline, Stuart said it is too early to attach dates to the project, but he noted the site and building will require environmental, land use and infrastructure development permitting before any ground can be broken.
The Ridgefield location would be the third Costco in Clark County, if it is completed. Other stores are located on Andresen Road near Interstate 205 and on Northeast 192nd Avenue in east Vancouver.
