The long wait for the opening of Costco’s new location on Kuebler Boulevard is almost over. The building’s exterior construction is complete and the location is set to open on March 10th, 2022.
The location on Kuebler has a new parking lot layout to optimize both car and foot traffic flow. Additionally, the gas pump is located on the opposite side of the parking lot close to the roundabout exit on 27th avenue. The new Costco will also have an expanded tire center to allow more customers to get maintenance done at the same time.
Construction began back in 2021, but plans for a new location began years prior. The legal battle between Costco, specifically its contracted land developer PacTrust, and the City of Salem, goes all the way back to 2018 when development of the land on Kuebler was first approved by the city. Pushback from the surrounding neighborhoods led to the City Council undoing their previous approval. Eventually PacTrust filed a lawsuit against the city and went to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, who found the city’s case to be inherently flawed, forcing the council to finally approve the land development on November 9th, 2020. Construction started sometime during the summer of 2021 and is set to be completely finished and ready for customers by March 10th. Currently, both the exterior and interior are completed and ready for the grand opening.
Though the community pushback failed to stop the construction, many residents of the surrounding area are still opposed to the new location opening. Jennifer Watkins, a substitute teacher and resident of the neighborhood just south of the new location, is one of the many people who still view the move as a bad idea.
“Living in the neighborhood, my biggest concern is traffic congestion, and I don’t understand how they could do the traffic survey and think that it is gonna be okay.” stated Mrs. Watkins. “Any time you’re gonna have to access kuebler, whether it’s to get on or get off, it’s just already backed up.”
The sentiment that Kuebler Boulevard won’t be able to manage the increased traffic is a common one, and even though PacTrust spent over $3.7 million on road improvements, many believe that the traffic draw will make driving on that part of Kuebler unbearable.
“It’s just, it’s already backed up without the store being there so I don’t know how adding this store; all of the customers, cars coming and going all day long, will not make it worse.” Watkins said.
While the surrounding neighborhoods may view the Costco move negatively, Costco has made sure to adhere to the guidelines set in the original layout drawings, with the gas pump being located as far from the residential areas as possible, and all semi truck loading bays being on the front of the building. PacTrust has also planted a large number of small trees across the property.
“They have done a really good job of making it look very aesthetically pleasing, I mean they have trees and tons of flowers and plants.” Watkins stated.
