Why Doesn’t Dallas Have a Costco Yet? Because Real Estate

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If you were getting pumped about Costco moving into the Dallas city limits at Coit and Churchill, we have some bad news …

If you were wondering when dirt was going to get to turning at Coit and North Central Expressway on the very first proposed Costco in Dallas proper, you’ll be waiting for a long, long time according to this report from DMN’s Maria Halkias. Apparently the price of the site owned by the Texas Department of Public Safety was too high, so Costco passed.

It’s just one more instance in which the warehouse retailer has shrugged off plans for store inside the Dallas city limits, and it has a bunch of Dallasites frustrated. First we got our hopes up over Costco execs sniffing around at the old Steakley Chevrolet location. Then it was the Coit and North Central Expressway site that got us excited. Obviously Dallas is ready for a Costco, but is Costco ready for Dallas?

Value is embedded in Costco’s DNA, the company says, so it won’t spend millions on legal battles or zoning fights like Sam’s Club did for the Cityplace store. Instead, Costo prefers to just wait for a good deal.

Brian Whelan, senior vice president of Northwest Atlantic Partners, the firm that Costco uses to help it locate new store sites in North America, said he’s aware that Dallas residents are waiting for him to find a spot, but declined to comment.

“Texas continues to be an important part of our expansion plans,” he said during a panel discussion at an event sponsored by the International Council of Shopping Centers in Dallas last week.

Dallas fits its criteria for opening a store, but the company feels no pressure to do it. It doesn’t matter that Dallas has the two groups he said Costco requires: an affluent customer base and lots of small businesses. Small businesses represent 50 percent of Costco’s sales.

Costco’s average store brings in $140 million to $150 million a year no matter where it opens it.

So, Costco isn’t looking for direct competition with Sam’s club, which might be why we’re seeing so many of them sprout up within the city limits. A market saturated with Sam’s won’t be attractive to Costco. Still, I feel like there’s still hope for us in Dallas that they will open up soon. Until then, we should just get comfortable with driving to Plano or Duncanville Cedar Hill for our Costco fix. Where do you think Costco should move in?

Joanna England is the Executive Editor at CandysDirt.com and covers the North Texas housing market.

10 Comments

  1. Leah Shafer on February 3, 2015 at 4:09 pm

    Bummer.

  2. amber backes on February 4, 2015 at 9:16 am

    This is so sad. I was hoping for the location at NWY highway. I have to drive 30 minutes for my bi-monthlu trip to Costco.

  3. Kyle Hall on February 5, 2015 at 10:38 am

    Is it confirmed that Costco has nothing going with the (DC-based?) owners of the old Steakley spot? I suppose if the company doesn’t comment, there can be no confirmation — but many of us were still hoping a Costco might be in the works, even if the wheels were turning slooowly.

  4. BillNye on February 5, 2015 at 1:12 pm

    What about the old Troy Aikman Ford site or all that other land by Midtown boulevard?

  5. 1st anon on February 5, 2015 at 1:29 pm

    Please, please … no more big boxes in Dallas. Not Sam’s at Cityplace, not Costco at the old Steakley location. For that Steakley location, you’ve got Target, Super-Target, Home Depot, Sam’s and Wal-mart within spitting distance. Not to mention Half-Price books, REI, and JC Penney. Costco/Tollway is 15 minutes away. Drive a bit. No more big boxes.

  6. Patrick on February 5, 2015 at 2:42 pm

    Costco in West Oak Cliff at Pinnacle Park !

    I wish Costco would come in and wipe Sams ass out

    • Joanna England on February 5, 2015 at 3:03 pm

      Oh that would be fantastic, Patrick! Actually, I’d love to see Costco come to West Dallas! Lots of small businesses there!

  7. 1st anon on February 5, 2015 at 8:26 pm

    You can go to Google Maps and enter “costco”. You’ll see all of the Dallas area Costco warehouse stores. Then enter Directions, and choose any location in Dallas to find out just how long it takes to get to a Costco. In the evening, any location in the Dallas area is no more than 20-25 minutes to a Costco. The old Steakley location is 20 minutes up to Costco on the Tollway. The Pinnacle Park location that someone comments about above is 22 minutes to a Costco. The second commentter, with all due respect, laments about having to drive 30 minutes twice a month. I just don’t understand this. Why in the world would anyone want another Costco (or Sams) in Dallas?

  8. Russell on August 1, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    I heard this prospective site might be alive against. Having received no offers on the parcel, I heard that TXDOT (re)approached Costco and that Costco might again be seriously considering the site near Park Central.
    Has anybody else heard any update or new information?

    • Nancoise on August 3, 2015 at 10:30 am

      That would be great news for me. I was just looking around the news this morning to see why the project hadn’t moved forward.

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