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Talk About Tulsa => Development & New Businesses => Topic started by: RecycleMichael on April 28, 2014, 05:23:24 am



Title: Costco
Post by: RecycleMichael on April 28, 2014, 05:23:24 am
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/costco-will-open-south-tulsa-location/article_4c64f594-9690-5e4f-97bf-80f9a905bf92.html

Costco will open south Tulsa location

City officials on Monday will make official what has been rumored for months — Costco is coming to town, sources familiar with the negotiations told the Tulsa World.
 
The city has scheduled a 3:30 p.m. news conference at 103rd Street and Memorial Drive to publicly welcome the wholesale giant to Oklahoma. Plans call for the store to be built on the west side of Memorial Drive between 103rd and 104th streets. Permitting and construction of the store at that site is expected to take at least a year.

Seattle-based Costco Wholesale Corp. is a membership-only store with locations in more than 40 states. The company is likely to benefit from Tulsa's recently approved retail incentive program. The program allows up to $2 million in sales-tax rebates for big-box retailers deemed capable of drawing a significant number of shoppers from outside the city.

The rebates can be used only to reimburse retailers that build their own public infrastructure and would be paid over several years only if the retailer generates a certain amount of sales-tax revenue each year. Clay Bird, director of the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, told councilors last year that the incentive program will help Tulsa compete with suburbs and other large cities, which offer similar programs or one-time incentives.

Tulsa's program would focus on what Bird called "destination" retailers —— stores that would potentially draw shoppers from as far as surrounding states —— and retailers that would be unique to Tulsa. At the time, he named Costco and Cabela's as retailers the city would attempt to lure with the new program. He said stores such as Target would not be eligible because they are not unique to Tulsa.

A retail incentives committee made up of city staffers and a city councilor will judge whether rebate applicants meet the criteria. Any incentive deal for Costco or any other companies considered in the future would need the approval of the mayor and council.

Under the policy, businesses generating $400,000 in city tax revenue in one year would get no more than $800,000 back over 10 years; those generating $1 million per year would get no more than $1.2 million over 4.8 years; and those generating $1.5 million or more per year would get a maximum of $2 million over 4.4 years. The city could not spend more in one year than 1 percent of its general-fund operating account on the incentive program.

In October —— a month after the City Council unanimously approved the incentive program —— Ben Ganzkow with CB Richard Ellis/Oklahoma told those attending the Tulsa Trends conference that Costco was looking to open a store in Tulsa. At the time, Costco officials declined to comment.

The company may not have a physical presence in the city yet, but it already has a following. The Facebook page "Bring Costco to Tulsa" had 617 "likes" as of Sunday evening. "Tulsa now has three Sam's Clubs but no Costco even though Costco has better selection and prices," one follower of the Facebook page wrote. "Tulsa has many people living here from other parts of the country that want Costco.

"We are those people."


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: hello on April 28, 2014, 07:26:52 am
Good for Tulsa!  But I hope if we do eventually get a Trader Joe's it is not so far south. They already have the awesome Fresh Market and their Whole Foods puts the one in Brookside to shame.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: SXSW on April 28, 2014, 07:54:06 am
Good for Tulsa!  But I hope if we do eventually get a Trader Joe's it is not so far south. They already have the awesome Fresh Market and their Whole Foods puts the one in Brookside to shame.

I wonder if Whole Foods would open a second Midtown location, similar in size to the one in south Tulsa?  I've thought since Borders closed on 21st that location would be pretty good for a larger store.  

I think it's just a matter of time before Trader Joe's moves into Oklahoma.  They usually like to build their own stores at least in their new locations in Texas and Colorado.  31st & Harvard seemed like a logical place when Homeland closed but Wal-Mart Market went there instead.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on April 28, 2014, 08:12:29 am
Whew!!  That's gonna be a real kick in the teeth to the whiners who say that paying something more than $8 an hour kills jobs and makes an enterprise non-viable.... but then, reality has always been a problem for them anyway!


I am thrilled and ready to join up!  Have had the opportunity to go with family in Seattle who are members and it is great place to shop - I just hope they don't "dumb-it-down" for Oklahoma!!  We even got cruises to Alaska!! 



Title: Re: Costco
Post by: guido911 on April 28, 2014, 04:50:53 pm
What about walkability? That's so important after all...


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: sgrizzle on April 28, 2014, 05:56:21 pm
I wonder if Whole Foods would open a second Midtown location, similar in size to the one in south Tulsa?  I've thought since Borders closed on 21st that location would be pretty good for a larger store.  

Doubtful they would build one so close since they made it seem like the South Tulsa location was a stretch.


I think it's just a matter of time before Trader Joe's moves into Oklahoma.  They usually like to build their own stores at least in their new locations in Texas and Colorado.  31st & Harvard seemed like a logical place when Homeland closed but Wal-Mart Market went there instead.

Maybe they could take Borders, or build on brookside.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on April 28, 2014, 08:51:17 pm
What about walkability? That's so important after all...


Costco is very walkable!  Wide aisles, long straight stretches, much less aisle crowding than Sam's club - you can do some serious walking in there.



Title: Re: Costco
Post by: guido911 on April 28, 2014, 10:00:21 pm

Costco is very walkable!  Wide aisles, long straight stretches, much less aisle crowding than Sam's club - you can do some serious walking in there.



I know it is. Just like Woodland Hills, Promenade, Tulsa Hills, etc. "Walkability" is a synonym for "downtown" and "Utica Square", to some the only places Tulsa has that's worth a crap when it comes to shopping.



edited.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: sgrizzle on April 29, 2014, 07:22:57 am
(http://kotv.images.worldnow.com/images/25371046_BG1.jpg)

I think it's funny TW already has a picture of a wall going up when they haven't even applied for building permits yet.

Also note the liquor store sidecar.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Townsend on April 29, 2014, 07:58:41 am

Also note the liquor store sidecar.

Perhaps they know something...


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: BKDotCom on April 29, 2014, 08:11:29 am
I know it is. Just like Woodland Hills, Promenade, Tulsa Hills, etc. "Walkability" is a synonym for "downtown" and "Utica Square", to some the only places Tulsa has that's worth a crap when it comes to shopping.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xECUrlnXCqk[/youtube]


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: DowntownDan on April 29, 2014, 09:46:38 am
Not enough parking.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: swake on April 29, 2014, 10:06:55 am
Perhaps they know something...

They can own one liquor store under current law. They wouldn't open one store in Tulsa and hold stores in Oklahoma City out until the state changes the laws would they?

We can dream of modern liquor laws. Can it happen?


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: SXSW on April 29, 2014, 10:50:39 am
Good to see, Costco is pretty useless without the liquor store.  They have some great deals on wine in there.

This was on a lot of "lists" that people wanted for the city, and I'm happy Tulsa will get the sales tax revenue.  What's next on the list?  Trader Joe's?  Cabela's?  Crate & Barrel?  Nordstrom?


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: sgrizzle on April 29, 2014, 10:52:48 am
Good to see, Costco is pretty useless without the liquor store.  They have some great deals on wine in there.

Yeah, the other 97% of the store is purely decorative.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: sgrizzle on April 29, 2014, 10:53:17 am
They can own one liquor store under current law. They wouldn't open one store in Tulsa and hold stores in Oklahoma City out until the state changes the laws would they?

We can dream of modern liquor laws. Can it happen?

That's the way I understand it. Tulsa would have Costco exclusivity.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Red Arrow on April 29, 2014, 11:02:08 am
The TW had an article this morning about Costco.  If I remember correctly, Costco will have a 3rd party involved in the liquor store.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Red Arrow on April 29, 2014, 11:05:07 am
Not enough parking.

Good.  Maybe it will keep the traffic down on Memorial.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: DowntownDan on April 29, 2014, 11:05:26 am
Welcome to Costco.  I love you.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Townsend on April 29, 2014, 11:10:58 am
Good to see, Costco is pretty useless without the liquor store.  They have some great deals on wine in there.


I don't know if great deals on wine will be legal in Oklahoma.

I wonder how the liquor store will be separated.  Open at 11 and close at 9?  Nothing below room temp?


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Conan71 on April 29, 2014, 12:22:30 pm
Good to see, Costco is pretty useless without the liquor store.  They have some great deals on wine in there.

This was on a lot of "lists" that people wanted for the city, and I'm happy Tulsa will get the sales tax revenue.  What's next on the list?  Trader Joe's?  Cabela's?  Crate & Barrel?  Nordstrom?

There’s pretty good wine deals at Parkhill’s, Ranch Acres, Bodega, and a few other local liquor stores I can think of.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: swake on April 29, 2014, 01:49:32 pm
I don't know if great deals on wine will be legal in Oklahoma.

I wonder how the liquor store will be separated.  Open at 11 and close at 9?  Nothing below room temp?

You can run special pricing on liquor (wine) in Oklahoma, but they have to last an entire month and can’t be below cost, iirc.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on April 29, 2014, 02:50:57 pm
There are no good deals on liquor in Oklahoma.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: saintnicster on April 29, 2014, 03:10:51 pm
I wonder how the liquor store will be separated.  Open at 11 and close at 9?  Nothing below room temp?

Looks like it'll be a full liquor store (normal hours) with a separate entrance, run by other folks.


http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/retail/costco-reveals-plans-for-new-tulsa-store/article_d9cb0045-0b63-516e-85c0-a7643f5a14b1.html

Quote
Tulsans wondering what to expect when the state’s first Costco opens next year at 103rd Street and Memorial Drive will see a higher quality of products than they would find at Sam’s Club and a greater selection of goods — including beef, baked goods and clothing — a company official said Monday.

"Costco and before it Price Club were the innovators in these club warehouses, and they are the ones who brought fresh food into it," said Steve McArthur, the company's real estate manager. "We are the ones who innovated to bring in new things, so we are constantly bringing in new things and you see Sam's following us."

McArthur joined Mayor Dewey Bartlett and City Councilor Phil Lakin on Monday across the street from the site of the new store to formally announce the company was coming to town.
The 148,000-square-foot store is to be constructed on 18 acres Costco is purchasing from the Warren Foundation. The company expects to spend $22 million to construct the store, McArthur said.

Costco stores average $170 million a year in business, but McArthur declined to say what kind of sales he expects the Tulsa store to generate.

He loves the location, though — hundreds of miles from the nearest Costco in Frisco, Texas —— and along one of Tulsa's busiest streets.

"You tell people, 'I am at Memorial and 103rd Street,' most people, I think, if they live uptown or not, they know where that is."

The store will employ 200 people and pay cashiers a starting salary of 11.50 an hour. The average wage for a Costco employee is $21 an hour, McArthur said.

Seattle-based Costco Wholesale Corp. is a membership-only store with 461 warehouses in 43 states.

McArthur said the state's liquor laws —— which prohibit the sale of wine and strong beer in supermarkets — had something to do with the company not opening a store here.

But its natural growth pattern had a lot to do with it, too.

"We are not doing the massive stores everywhere, all the time," McArthur said. "But we are growing in Texas, and Oklahoma is the next state up."

Visitors to the new store won't have to go far if they want to buy liquor, strong beer or wine. The company plans to build a separate structure, called a pod, next to the Costco that will contain a liquor store.

The liquor store will be operated by an independent third party, as required by law, and McArthur said the company is constructing it with the hope of someday being able to sell liquor and wine.


"At some point we know the rules are going to change," he said.

Liquor accounts for less than 10 percent of the company's sales, but its wines are especially popular with customers, McArthur said.

"Costco is the largest purveyor of fine wines in the world," he said. "People that have that wherewithal to know wines find it a bargain.

McArthur said Tulsans questioning whether to give the store a try should know they will get a better value than they would at any other store of its kind.

"If they don't like what they have bought, there is a 100 percent guarantee whenever they want to bring it back, no questions asked," he said. "The employees want to work there, and that is going to be reflected in the way they treat the customer because we pay them so well."


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Townsend on April 29, 2014, 03:29:29 pm
Looks like it'll be a full liquor store (normal hours) with a separate entrance, run by other folks.


http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/retail/costco-reveals-plans-for-new-tulsa-store/article_d9cb0045-0b63-516e-85c0-a7643f5a14b1.html


Thanks


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: swake on April 29, 2014, 03:49:29 pm
It's really time to grow up and change these laws.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Townsend on April 29, 2014, 10:12:18 pm
It's really time to grow up and change these laws.

Can't.  Jesus


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: sgrizzle on April 30, 2014, 05:11:04 am
It's really time to grow up and change these laws.

Keep in mind the people who sell alcohol in Oklahoma either like or, or have found how to work with it. It's an industry not too jazzed to change itself.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on April 30, 2014, 07:15:36 am
Keep in mind the people who sell alcohol in Oklahoma either like or, or have found how to work with it. It's an industry not too jazzed to change itself.


Because the industry had such a big hand in making the laws - they are perfectly tailored to a group that wants to control every step of the process as a "monopoly".  (Sounds like the AMA, huh??)



Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Hoss on April 30, 2014, 08:04:35 am
Keep in mind the people who sell alcohol in Oklahoma either like or, or have found how to work with it. It's an industry not too jazzed to change itself.

It's not so much the endpoint sellers as it is the distributors.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Conan71 on April 30, 2014, 08:19:33 am

Because the industry had such a big hand in making the laws - they are perfectly tailored to a group that wants to control every step of the process as a "monopoly".  (Sounds like the AMA, huh??)



Which industry DOESN’T have a hand in making the laws that regulate them?


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: BKDotCom on April 30, 2014, 08:42:05 am
Which industry DOESN’T have a hand in making the laws that regulate them?

The netflix industry's hand, if present, was slapped pretty good by the FCC


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: SouthTulsaCountyDude on February 12, 2015, 12:24:28 pm
Whats the holdup with Costco?   


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: rdj on February 12, 2015, 04:11:05 pm
Warren Clinic is now open so I suspect Costco will start soon.  That was the timeline I'd heard from day one.  The Warren Clinic is a really nice looking building.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: guido911 on February 12, 2015, 08:11:45 pm
Warren Clinic is now open so I suspect Costco will start soon.  That was the timeline I'd heard from day one.  The Warren Clinic is a really nice looking building.

Inside and out. Reminds me of a miniature hospital.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: sgrizzle on April 02, 2015, 05:50:01 pm
Trees are gone, dirt is moving.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on April 05, 2015, 09:11:52 pm
Which industry DOESN’T have a hand in making the laws that regulate them?


No doubt!!  All of them try at one level or another.  Some are just way more successful at buying Congress (Federal and States) than others....



Title: Re: Costco
Post by: sgrizzle on April 06, 2015, 06:35:14 am

No doubt!!  All of them try at one level or another.  Some are just way more successful at buying Congress (Federal and States) than others....



The pillow industry? You never hear on the news about the "Big Pillow" lobby, but I wish we did.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on April 06, 2015, 08:15:57 am
The pillow industry? You never hear on the news about the "Big Pillow" lobby, but I wish we did.


I think they 'control' their areas on a scale proportional to their relative significance in the economy.  There is (was?) a pillow place in Bartlesville area that seemed to run the whole town of Ochelata for many years!  I think their 'tentacles' extended all the way to Lenapah for some time....





Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Conan71 on April 06, 2015, 09:26:15 am
The pillow industry? You never hear on the news about the "Big Pillow" lobby, but I wish we did.

As in big naughty pillows?  :o


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: swake on April 06, 2015, 09:34:52 am
As in big naughty pillows?  :o

Those aren't pillows
(http://www.tampabay.com/resources/images/blogs-photo/rendered/2013/11/thosearentpillow_8col.jpg)


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on February 27, 2017, 01:21:28 pm
Well, we have been members of Costco for almost a year.  Sounds like they are getting ready to raise the price on membership.  Not sure it has been worth what it cost originally...likely won't renew.



Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Ibanez on February 27, 2017, 08:30:45 pm
Well, we have been members of Costco for almost a year.  Sounds like they are getting ready to raise the price on membership.  Not sure it has been worth what it cost originally...likely won't renew.



Supposed to go up $5.

If you get the Costco credit card that pays 2% cash back and use it there spending just $500 per year there will offset that price increase.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: BKDotCom on February 27, 2017, 11:06:48 pm
Supposed to go up $5.

If you get the Costco credit card that pays 2% cash back and use it there spending just $500 per year there will offset that price increase.

See.  You can't afford to not renew.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Red Arrow on February 27, 2017, 11:08:49 pm
I got my renewal notice a few days ago.  $55, same as late April last year.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on February 28, 2017, 08:49:59 am
We got the big $100 plan... has been very marginal so far.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: Red Arrow on March 10, 2017, 09:29:14 pm
I checked at the Costco booth at the Home & Garden Show tonight.  Prices are going up in June. Until then, renew at last year's prices.



Title: Re: Costco
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on March 11, 2017, 07:25:31 pm
I checked at the Costco booth at the Home & Garden Show tonight.  Prices are going up in June. Until then, renew at last year's prices.




They told me it would be the higher price now...  maybe my membership expires in June...can't remember.  Definitely backing down to the cheaper plan if I keep it at all.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: BKDotCom on March 13, 2017, 10:00:40 am
How quickly the tide turns.   There was so much excitement and anticipation for Costco finally coming to town..
One year later:  meh.

Also, I'm really super excited about REI finally coming to town.


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on March 13, 2017, 12:37:28 pm
How quickly the tide turns.   There was so much excitement and anticipation for Costco finally coming to town..
One year later:  meh.

Also, I'm really super excited about REI finally coming to town.


I am not against them at all...I really like the meat and produce, and just bought a mattress for the guest bedroom there that is really very nice.  It just hasn't lived up to the hype and "overbuilt" expectations...


Title: Re: Costco
Post by: sgrizzle on March 16, 2017, 09:53:55 am
Also got my renewal notice. I did the executive membership that gets you a percentage back at renewal time. I like Costco, recently bought a TV and laptop there, but now that I'm an uppity midtowner it's a bit out of the way.