I am now in my tenth year living in The Villages and don't see any reason to move elsewhere. However, being kind, one might say that the story of what folks want and need is mostly the same. Like Costco, Costco, Costco. When are they coming to the Villages, and now that they are, it's Traffic, traffic, traffic. Why are they building here? Move it here, move it there, just move it anywhere besides here! LOL The Villages is always a chuckle of disputed opinions before and after the new news of what has been begged for.

On a positive note, you can order your coffin at Costco and get a great price. Just bring something other than a golf cart. ;)

They will ship directly to your mortuary. No cart needed. I know two different families who used Costco for their dirt box needs.

I think you're right. I think it's very close. I drove by yesterday and the Costco signage is up on the side of the building now

“45 days Plenty of Time for Roadwork Alterations?“

You’re kidding right? Have you been down 441 in last 10 years? Or down 484 to trunpike? 45 days be lucky to move stops signs around IMO

Costco wont be as popular as people think - thanks to their chosen "crammed" location
 

I work out of the Villages (Ocala)...NOBODY will drive to the Villages from Ocala...NOBODY will drive from Clermont. FACT: In the 14 years, I have lived here, one constant complaint is the traffic. SAMS will never be outdone by Costco as the FAMILIES that live on the perimeter (Lady Lake, Fruitland Park, Leesburg, Summerfield and Bellview will NOT choose to join here instead of Sams because of the chaos the traffic will cause..YES, I am "DAILY" outside the bubble....I CHOOSE BJ's because with my RT sided gas tank, I am in and out in less than 10 minutes in high season and there is ONLY chaos getting in and out on the weekend.

I am looking forward to Costco because we could never take advantage of the frozen or chilled foods in Wesley Chapel. Our trips to Costco must, to make DH happy, include lunch at the Mediterranean Grill down the street. That makes keeping food frozen for that long of a time difficult.

For dry goods, I can always order delivery. But it will be nice to just run up there and see what's on offer in the fridge/freezer section. After the initial opening rush wears off a bit.

Ok, looks like road construction through Summerfield done on 301. Still single lanes with middle turning lane. At 7am bumper to bumper traffic heading south and almost as busy heading north. Naturally little progress at 484 and 75 construction. Summerfield will be bottleneck if not 4 lanes like south of Summerfield. Not mention the bottle necks at 301 and 466 left turning lanes. So, yes IMO you can say there was NO planning. Naturally if you don’t live in area it’s not going to affect YOU, until you go down these streets mentioned. It don’t affect me till I go that way. Just wait till snowbirds return…:beer3:

I do think something needs to be done with that golf cart tunnel under CR101. It probably will not do well with heavy traffic. Maybe just a golf cart lane across CR101 and some stop signs before and after it .

Big chain stores, like Costco, require a certain number of residents per mile. This demographic must include a range of age and income. Costco has a high volume of commercial, professional,
governmental, and church/charity buyers. I do not know the actual numbers, but I would not be surprised if these sales are much larger than personal. It is mandatory the site chosen is close to MANY as well as a variety of businesses, restaurants, offices, churches, schools, local and state government buildings. IMO, they did their homework.

We shall see in the next few months how difficult it will be to shop there

The sign at Costco says it opens August 6th.

Opening day is August 6th.

So my WAG based on looking at it quickly as I drove past in the beginning of June was off by seven days? I’ll take that.

Do you think shopping at this Costco will be Any Different than shopping at any Costco in any state?

In 20 years at our 8 Costco’s fuel lines are 10 plus car deep in every lane. Parking is at a premium within hour of opening. Checkout lines are 5-10 shoppers deep, food court is 5-15 minute wait.

The only difference this Costco will have golf carts along with cars that will be finding place to park. For us it doesn’t change our shopping, any everyday item comes to my front door, just like Amazon, Kroger, Walmart+. The need to shop crowded isles as an outing isn’t a priority.

We have the option of Costco shopping at 9am, because of membership status. For us no different, than waiting in line at Publix yesterday for 10 minutes, while a gentleman had in depth conversation with cashier about his dog,(with pics) that he can no longer bring in the store.

Which sometimes I am good with because many older gens are in need of human contact. Thankfully Costco cashiers will not have that issue, as their goal is too get the customer checked out quickly.

We have never lived near a Costco and therefore never been a member. Have gone with our kids and very impressed and plan to get membership after things settle down. Interesting as Sams has never been overly crowded.

Travel to Burger King, KFC, Walmart, NYPD Pizza, Hobby Lobby, etc. by going by golf cart probably will be more difficult unless they can find a fast fix.

JMHO, but I think the traffic will be horrendous and a lot of folks that shop that area now will just quit going. The term "nightmare" comes to mind.

Based on my purchases at BJs, I don’t think my golf cart will ever have enough space to go to a bulk item store anyway

Not That Elusive
 

Won’t most in the southern Villages still go to the closer Costco in Claremont? I don’t foresee huge amounts of traffic for the outlet.

Exactly! And they will have no patience with golf carts driving slow.
You wouldn’t be able to buy much at Costco driving a golf cart anyway.

Went by Costco yesterday and their sign said opening August 6th at 8 a.m.

Their website did list opening soon in The Villages in August 2025.

Costco
 

“Beyond”???

First of all, Costco isn’t the only trick in town. Sam’s and BJ’s are close by. Ocala already has those discount outlets and a whole lot more shopping than here. What sane person would bypass those for a Costco? It wouldn’t be worth the trip to drive from Ocala or anywhere northward to even shop at Costco.

There has always been a Costco in Wesley Chapel and even one at Claremont. How many times a month do you travel to one of those?

Long time Costco members have been driving to WC, Orlando, or Clearmont from TV. I have never in 20 years drove by a Costco parking lot that was less than 75% parking. We belong to Sam’s but after 20 years dropped membership as soon as Costco was announced. BJ was a one and done, I don’t coupon shop, not enough product I shop for. BJs only bonus lots of parking any time of day and basically no waiting in line for inside or fuel.

As far as sane shoppers, this week at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and KK, in Gainesville, talk was about the new Costco opening. Many employees live near Ocala, so they will shop in TV.
Up north we drive past one of 8 Costco every week. Each Costco uniquely had different products along with stock items, Only shop Costco about once a month, everything else comes to front door. So same day delivery from Costco will be used weekly for us, no parking required.

Costco like Trader Joe’s has a cult following. What you will be amazed is Costco customer service, and their product accountability. That ship has sailed at 90% of today’s retail.

That is why I am putting a hitch on my cart with a 6-foot trailer. Almost ready to go!

Wanna understand the “Costco cult”?

‘Costco COST 0.02%increase; green up pointing triangle was recently sued by Lululemon LULU -0.84%decrease; red down pointing triangle for allegedly selling cheap knockoffs of the athleisure brand’s premium clothing. One of those products is a pair of comfortable, fashionable, wildly popular Lululemon men’s pants that came out a decade ago and cost $128.

A few years ago, Costco began selling a version of those pants that looked and felt awfully similar—for $20.

And you don’t exactly need a law degree to read this legal document and see why so many people are so completely obsessed with Costco.

Those pants were part of the Kirkland Signature private label, which is based on a simple but powerful idea: sell products of a high quality at a low price. With that philosophy, Kirkland has become essential to Costco’s success. No less a Costco authority than co-founder Jim Sinegal describes the creation of Kirkland three decades ago as one of the crucial developments in the history of the company.

The store brand now accounts for roughly a third of Costco’s revenue—and it’s growing faster than the company as a whole. Costco’s total sales have almost doubled since 2017. Kirkland’s have almost tripled.

At this point, it’s bigger than many of the world’s biggest companies. . Kirkland alone brought in $86 billion last year—more than all of Procter & Gamble. In fact, this brand known for no-frills affordability generated roughly the same annual revenue as luxury giant LVMH.
It doesn’t just drive sales. It also breeds loyalty. It gives people a reason to become members—and members a reason to keep coming back. If the cult of Costco had a Kool-Aid, it would definitely be Kirkland Signature.

Perhaps the most important thing that Kirkland does is bring down the price of other brands.

To understand why, it helps to have a basic understanding of Costco economics. The company stocks fewer items than traditional retailers and makes up for smaller margins with absurdly large volumes. It sells branded products at no more than 14% above cost, even if that means leaving extra profit on the table. For Kirkland products only, Costco makes an exception and permits a markup of 15%. ‘ WSJ July11/25

Would bet most of their profit comes from selling memberships. Brilliantly run company.

The gas station was open this afternoon.

Not sure about that, for example, my full annual membership cost is refunded from my purchases if I buy enough.

That’s exactly the point… If I buy enough which ups profits on the other end. Pay to shop in store what concept. :beer3:

None, I don’t shop at store where you have to pay to shop in them.