[M2inOR]

Confirmed: Costco to open new
location in Clermont

Jun 1, 2021, 11:55am EDT Updated: Jun 1, 2021, 12:01pm EDT

It's official: Costco wants to open a store in Clermont. Seattle-based Costco Wholesale
Corp. (Nasdaq: COST) is seeking approvals and permits from the city of Clermont for a future warehouse on State Road 50 north of Magnolia Pointe Boulevard on 19.2 acres, according to city documents. A planning and zoning meeting concerning the Costco will be held at 6:30 p.m. on June 1. Orlando Business Journal first reported in January that Costco, one of the world's largest retailers, was eyeing the site for its next Central Florida location.

The store will be 151,000 square feet, which is a typical size for a Costco location. The project will generate temporary construction jobs, as well as hundreds of full-time retail positions after it's built, making it an important economic generator.

The project team includes Colliers Engineering & Design as engineer; Orlando-based Archon Commercial Advisors as broker; Atlantic Retail Partner John Dottore as broker representing Costco; and Jacksonville-based Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow PLLC Vice President Brad Wester as planner. The landowner is Plaza Collina Orlando Asli VI LLLP, which is related to Winter Park-based developer Avanti Properties Group.

Avanti CEO Marvin Shapiro declined to comment and other project representatives weren't available for comment.

Costco needs site review and building permit approvals before construction can start, but a project timeline wasn't known, said Kathryn Deen, communications director for the city of Clermont. It's the latest Costco in Central Florida, as the Seattle retailer also plans to open a location in Viera. Florida has 28 Costco warehouses, which is the fourth-most in the U.S. behind Washington, Texas and California.

Big deal

Once it's completed, a typical Costco employs more than 300 people, according to Buzzfeed, and a single warehouse can generate $192 million in annual sales, according to Statista. Real estate experts say those eye-popping sales numbers — which Investopedia reported top all other single retailer locations in the U.S. — will attract other retailers who want to be near Costco.

"This is a generator that can anchor any type of mixed-use activity center, and they've got the land over there to do it," previously said Brian Grandstaff, principal at Millenia Partners who isn't involved in the deal. "It's going to be great not only for Clermont but also Winter Garden."

Costco has been growing faster since the start of the pandemic. In the U.S., Costco doubled the number of its warehouse openings in first-quarter 2021 from three to seven year-over-year, according to company filings. The retailer expects to open another 12-14 warehouses through the rest of its 2021 fiscal year. That growth joined a net sales surge of 16.9% year-over-year.

Retail stats

The Clermont/Lake County retail submarket features a 2.5%
average vacancy rate, which is lower than the Orlando-area
average of 5.8%, Colliers International Central Florida reported.
That shows demand for retail in the area.

In addition, the retail submarket's average asking rental rate was
$19.15 per square foot, compared with the Orlando-area average of
$18.57 per square foot.

Jack Witthaus
Staff Writer
Orlando Business Journal