TRADITION, Fla. — On the Treasure Coast, all eyes are on Costco, ever since the opening of its newest location in Stuart.
11 miles away in Port St. Lucie - walls and steel…are going up for the 1.8 million square foot Costco Distribution Depot.
“This facility will be the distribution hub for all 32 Costco wholesale clubs in the state of Florida,” said We McCurry, senior vice president of the St. Lucie County Economic Development Council.
With the new warehouse in Tradition, many neighbors are wondering if a Costco store could be next.
“We’d love a store here,” said resident Bob Russel,
WPTV’s Tyler Hatfield went looking for answers from the City, which told him there are no plans for a store now.
But they wrote in a statement:
“We welcome the opportunity for a Costco retail store to come to the city of Port St. Lucie in the future. We know having a store in Port St. Lucie has been high on our residents’ list of wants for a number of years.”
Neighbor Mary Russell said a new store would make shopping easier.
“If it were five minutes away, that would be awesome, instead of 30-38 minutes,” said Russell.
McCurry said construction on the distribution center is ahead of schedule.
On Monday, the city approved solar panels at the facility – which McCurry said will be fully powered by solar energy.
‘The facility is going to be completely off grid,” said McCurry. “Providing its own power”
McCurry said the facility will add jobs with benefits and above average wages.
“More people spending money in our local economy, more houses being bought or rented by employees,” said McCurry.
The facility sits on 200 acres of land. Neighbors like Bob Russell said he thinks maybe a store could fit there too.
“They got all this acreage,” said Russell. “Why not utilize it for the people that want it.”
