Costco purchases land for first Houston-area Costco Business Center
Costco Wholesale Corp. has purchased 13 acres at a Stafford mixed-use development called the Grid. It plans to use the land for the area’s first Costco Business Center, which caters to small business, according to developer StreetLevel Investments. The Costco Business Center is slated to open before the end of the year.
Local officials welcomed the news.
“This is a great addition for our residents and will wonderfully complement our growing businesses,” said Stafford Mayor Cecil Willis in a statement.
“I am excited that Costco has chosen East Fort Bend to launch the first location of its unique Business Center concept in the Houston area,” said Fort Bend County Commissioner Grady Prestage.
The site where Costco is building 148,000 square feet of retail space was once home to the Texas Instruments campus before the technology company, well known for its graphing calculators, relocated in 2012. StreetLevel Investments and joint-venture partner Provident Realty Advisors are turning the site, off of I-69 between West Airport Boulevard and South Kirkwood Road, into a mixed-use development that unfolds over 192 acres.
The big-box retailer declined to comment on the new location, saying in an email, “Unfortunately, it is our company policy to not comment regarding future Costco warehouses until we are ready to share details about the new location (usually 2-3 months in advance).”
The Grid, which is being developed in phases, has already opened 726 apartments in two developments; an In-N-Out Burger, the California chain with a fanatical following; Whiskey Cake, a craft cocktail bar and restaurant; and a number of other restaurants. A Torchy’s is set to open in May.
At build-out, the $500 million project plans to have 350,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment, 2,400 apartments, 500,000 square feet of office, multiple hotels, a health club and a network of pocket parks and trails. Architecture firm Gensler and landscape architecture company TBG are consultants on the project, said StreetLevel Investments.
The Grid, which began construction in 2018, was granted a 70 percent county tax abatement for 15 years, and the developers could be reimbursed for as much as $52 million worth of infrastructure improvements made to the site, including new roads, landscaping, water and sewer systems and public parking garages.
PlainsCapital Bank of Dallas is financing the project.
Includes previous reporting by Nancy Sarnoff.
twitter.com/raschuetz
