Plans for a new Kelowna Costco have been submitted to city hall.

Image Credit: Costco

KELOWNA - It could be anywhere from three months to a year before the proposal for a new Kelowna Costco passes through all the bureaucratic hoops needed for construction to get underway.

Regardless, plans are coming together. And they’re coming together not far from where the store already exists, on vacant farm land where Baron and Leckie Roads converge.

“It’s been in the works for awhile,” Mayor Colin Basran said Wednesday, Sept. 18, on the heels of the development plan being uploaded to the City of Kelowna website.

“As I’ve said all along, I instructed our staff to work with Costco to find an appropriate (location) and we’re seeing the results of that.”

Costco’s new location has been the focus of rampant speculation and gossip. It even made an unusual appearance in the last municipal election when one candidate charged that the city’s dealings with Costco were going poorly and the warehouse store was about to move.

Basran had to address concerns that the city was “closed for business.” 

Then, again, in January reports emerged that Costco secured land on Westbank First Nation and Basran had to quash rumours again.

Basran said the reveal of the application offers a bit of “closure” but, more importantly, he’s happy that,if the plan moves ahead as proposed, Costco employees can rest easy knowing they won’t have to travel to a different community and work.

“I’m happy to see Costco will stay in the community and we will continue to work with them and help through the development process,” he said.

As for the new location, it was land owned by the Bennett family that has sat vacant for years — the four properties are at 1880 Leckie Road, 1830 Leckie Road, 2125 Baron Road and 2205 Baron Road — and are worth roughly $16 million according to B.C. Assessment.

In documents submitted to the city by WSP Canada Group Limited, the store’s shown to be around 158,734 square feet, including designated space for a seasonal garden centre. The current store is 135,000 square feet.

The proposal shows room for 812 parking spots for the warehouse and 16 accessible parking spots.

There are 79 gas bar parking stalls for the gas bar, which will be situated off Baron Road, where it intersects with Durnin Road.

The plan so far is detailed and includes a proposal for landscaping and new lights along Leckie Road, which would get a lot more traffic. It's also a stone's throw from Real Canadian Superstore, which also has a gas bar.

Kelowna Costco has 90,000 members, employs 200 people and is the only Okanagan Costco. It opened in the early '90s.

The application is a long way from becoming reality. City planners still have to go over the plan and a date for it to be before council hasn’t even been set.

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