Jax Daily Record is reporting Costco has made a request to the St. Johns River Water Management District for a minor permit modification to allow it to construct a gas station at its St. Johns Town Center location. It will have 24 fueling stations.
The gas station will be built in the northeast corner of its existing parking lot (next to REI's kayak launch).
This is one of few Costco locations I have visited that do not have a gas station onsite. The store opened in November 2000 and was one of the first retailers in what would become the retail epicenter of NE Florida. Until the opening of the West Jacksonville location it was the Costco location with the most members associated to it in the Southeast US (which explains why Costco opened two more area locations in the past few years).
Link: https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2024/apr/19/costco-wholesale-proposes-adding-members-only-gas-station-at-town-center/
Looking forward to Glenn's review on this.
Just wanted to give a quick update on this topic after talking to someone at Costco about it...
Costco is still planning on building the gas station. However, they are concerned about the amount of traffic it might generate and as such are also exploring the possibility of a nearby, but offsite location. As mentioned earlier, prior to the relatively recent additions of the West Jax and World Golf Village locations, the Town Center location was the busiest Costco in the Southeast. Now it's "just" the busiest location in the state of Florida. Anyway, the amount of traffic congestion nearby the store is already extremely high sometimes and having the gas station right there could make things even more challenging - and they want to ensure a good member experience.
It sounds like they have a 25-year exclusivity agreement that forbids them from building a gas station at/near the Town Center location. They didn't specify who the opposing party to the agreement is but my sense is that it's Gate Petroleum (i.e., the Peytons... although I believe the land the store was built on was acquired from the Skinners). The agreement expires in June and they are hoping to make a final decision on the gas station location by then.
That Costco is a hot mess. We only go to the orange park one now.
They're concerned about the traffic? YA DONT SAY? The traffic at that place is a shit show on a Tuesday morning at 10am without a gas station.
I've been to other Costco's where the gas was a block or two away. If I were them, I would cut a deal with Ikea and put it on their property. It's a great spot right off of I-295 with lots of land and has far less traffic than around Costco. I am sure Ikea would appreciate the extra traffic it might bring their way. They might even pay Costco to put it there or at least give them the real estate to use at little or no cost. A win-win.
(I know they both sell furniture but I doubt the overlap is so great that they would really care about that.)
If that doesn't work, they should talk to the FBI about their property... free gas for the Feds to do it. LOL.
If a big part of the pricing structure of Costco gas is to drive customers to the store after filling up, then it probably doesn't make much sense for the pumps to be too far from the warehouse.
A block or two away is one thing, two and a half miles away is another. Town Center is infilled enough that I'm not sure how many options they really have in terms of where to site a station if off-property. Bit of a shame they didn't plan for this sooner when there were more options.
I went to that Costco once and regretted it, as soon as I got a block away. Never seen a place that busy on a random weekday morning. It's easier getting in and out of the Costco next to Bass Pro and Buc-ee's in WGV.
Quote from: Josh on January 14, 2025, 09:58:24 AM
If a big part of the pricing structure of Costco gas is to drive customers to the store after filling up, then it probably doesn't make much sense for the pumps to be too far from the warehouse.
While my Ikea suggestion was a tongue in cheek suggestion, the reality is there are not a lot of options nearer to that Costco and if there were any, the cost of the real estate might not justify the expense for a bunch of likely money losing gas pumps that are just to draw people in.
Given most Costco customers probably come from a 10 mile radius and you can only use the pumps if you are a Costco member, anyone driving to that general area is likely to visit Costco even if the pumps are a mile or two away at that point. I would imagine a big portion of their customers arrive via I-295 (or could do JTB to I-295) so exiting Ikea is not a big deal and Gate Parkway goes straight to Costco from there. Importantly, a 1,000 extra visitors to Ikea's property may be a drop in the bucket for that property.
Looking at an aerial, the very best option would be to buy out the Daily's station in front. This not only would give them a ready made setup for the pumps but might create an opportunity to redesign their entry point from Gate Parkway which is desperately needed. If they did build out a gas facility on the Costco property it could put the Daily's in a very bad situation so maybe Daily's would then rather sell vs. fail to compete. Interestingly, there is also a second Daily's only 1,500 feet away to the south on the other side of the JTA interchange thus the stations may be cannibalizing each other's business and it may not hurt Daily's at all to give one up.
It really comes down to what options do they really have to locate a somewhat large pump facility that will generate a 1,000 visits a day or more.
Costco should build their gas station next to the new Daily's gas station downtown! ;)
I'd imagine if this Costco is consistently this congested, there is a market for another in Jax. Maybe Regency since it's being redeveloped or somewhere on the Northside near River City
This Costco probably hosts the most diverse concentration of nationalities/ethnicities in Jacksonville, outside of World of Nations. I haven't experienced another retail space that attracts that level of cultural diversity in Jax.
Quote from: Zac T on January 15, 2025, 06:38:50 PM
I'd imagine if this Costco is consistently this congested, there is a market for another in Jax. Maybe Regency since it's being redeveloped or somewhere on the Northside near River City
The existing Costco's in Jax, as the crow flies, are between 12 and 24 miles apart. Per Google Maps, Regency is only about 5.5 miles from Town Center. The best bet is near the airport at about 17 miles but I would guess the mostly likely spot would be around Wildlight in Nassau County at the 200/A1A interchange with I-95. This would not only serve the Duval northside, Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach and Nassau County, generally, but also south Georgia up to Brunswick/St. Simons.
Costco is a destination store, they don't need to be on every corner. They likely have a formula for population, income, and geography that puts them in middle class plus income areas, at or near interstate interchanges and with a minimum current or soon-to-be population within a given radius, likely at least 10 miles or so, by roads.
I have been to numerous Costco's during travels and all of them seem to fit most or all of the above formula.
Putting one on the northside or Yulee would alleviate a lot of the South Georgia foot traffic that the Southside store gets. Stuart is the next Florida one in the pipeline (April) but north Jax would be a great addition to the city. I'm surprised Gainesville hasn't gotten one yet.
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on January 15, 2025, 09:05:10 PM
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Costco is a destination store, they don't need to be on every corner. They likely have a formula for population, income, and geography that puts them in middle class plus income areas, at or near interstate interchanges and with a minimum current or soon-to-be population within a given radius, likely at least 10 miles or so, by roads.
I have been to numerous Costco's during travels and all of them seem to fit most or all of the above formula.
Yeah, Costco tends to target a more affluent demographic than the other two membership clubs. As such, a north Jax location is probably not on their horizon. They do operate a small logistics center at the corner of Busch Dr. & Whittaker Rd. though.
Rezoning request for the station. I guess they're serious.
https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2025/apr/14/costco-seeks-rezoning-to-add-fuel-station-at-town-center-area-store/
What the heck? Construction will remove about 150 parking spaces, with about 50 being returned once the gas station opens, so a net loss of 100 parking spaces. Finding parking is already a nightmare. They need a parking structure - of course, its construction would wipe out the rest of their parking while it is being built.
Living in Arlington, near the Dames Point Bridge, I hope the rumors of a new Costco in the Riverplace area are true, and soon. (This might be a rumor I just made up.)
ETA - On a more serious note, can the City consider the impact to the Costco warehouse parking during the rezoning? Was Costco required to have a certain number of spaces when the warehouse was approved?
Costco should have bought out the adjacent BJ's Restaurant on the corner with Gate Parkway. This would solve a myriad of traffic and parking issues for them. Better access and traffic flow, more room to put gas closer to the entry point like they do in most locations and more room for parking. Given Costco's sales volume per store, I don't doubt they could get a good return on their investment, no matter the price, which they could surely afford.
Restaurants are not doing so great nowadays, anyway, so maybe they would take a generous offer.
If allowed, what a nightmare that's going to be. The traffic getting in and out of that store is already bad.
At least it's in the back of the store. I never understood the appeal of waiting in line for 45 minutes to save a dollar on a tank of gas
Quote from: acme54321 on April 14, 2025, 08:03:16 PM
At least it's in the back of the store. I never understood the appeal of waiting in line for 45 minutes to save a dollar on a tank of gas
The wait for 87 octane isn't worth it unless you're already going there and the line isn't backed up outside the parking lot, but the difference in price for 93 octane is actually pretty dramatic; like $0.60/gallon less than comparable gas stations.
Quote from: Charles Hunter on April 14, 2025, 10:01:23 AM
What the heck? Construction will remove about 150 parking spaces, with about 50 being returned once the gas station opens, so a net loss of 100 parking spaces. Finding parking is already a nightmare. They need a parking structure - of course, its construction would wipe out the rest of their parking while it is being built.
[C]an the City consider the impact to the Costco warehouse parking during the rezoning? Was Costco required to have a certain number of spaces when the warehouse was approved?
Bumping this because I hope one of our Planning and Zoning gurus will know the answer.
Quote from: Josh on April 15, 2025, 11:56:23 AM
Quote from: acme54321 on April 14, 2025, 08:03:16 PM
At least it's in the back of the store. I never understood the appeal of waiting in line for 45 minutes to save a dollar on a tank of gas
The wait for 87 octane isn't worth it unless you're already going there and the line isn't backed up outside the parking lot, but the difference in price for 93 octane is actually pretty dramatic; like $0.60/gallon less than comparable gas stations.
With a Costco VISA card (headquartered at Citi in Jacksonville by the way), you save an extra 5% on their price plus 2% if you have an Executive membership. Add that to the recent 50 cents a gallon off I paid for 87 octane and you are looking at over 70 cents/gallon off if gas is around $3.00. On a 15 gallon fill, that's over $10 in savings and you are already there. The lines move pretty fast most of the time. I like to go to Costco in Orange Park an hour or two before closing (no lines in the store and easy to park up front) and then get the gas which is open up to an hour or more after closing. No lines at all then.
Quote from: Charles Hunter on April 15, 2025, 02:09:05 PM
Quote from: Charles Hunter on April 14, 2025, 10:01:23 AM
What the heck? Construction will remove about 150 parking spaces, with about 50 being returned once the gas station opens, so a net loss of 100 parking spaces. Finding parking is already a nightmare. They need a parking structure - of course, its construction would wipe out the rest of their parking while it is being built.
[C]an the City consider the impact to the Costco warehouse parking during the rezoning? Was Costco required to have a certain number of spaces when the warehouse was approved?
Bumping this because I hope one of our Planning and Zoning gurus will know the answer.
According to their application, there is a reciprocal parking agreement in place with the adjacent parcels.. meaning, they don't have to provide the minimum parking by code because theoretically any shortfall is being supplied elsewhere through this agreement.
The practicality of that parking agreement relative to this change is certainly a great question. The other stores around it are usually pretty lively as well.
In Costco's defense, while their parking lot is quite jam packed, the area where the gas station is proposed is so far away from the store entrance that unless it's the height of the holidays, that area is frequently unused, with even further spots around the building almost always unused (which they will probably request that their employees park in).
As for the gas station itself, the way they have it laid out and with the aid of electronic signage, vehicles move quickly and efficiently through it. The design also allows vehicles to approach an open spot even if there are vehicles ahead/behind it (and the electronic signs indicate if those spots are available). The question is whether even with the clever layout it would be able to handle the expected volume of customers.
City Council votes to deny Costco's gas station at Town Center....
QuoteJacksonville City Council says no to Costco on rezoning for gas station
Motorists who would like to fuel up while shopping at the Costco Wholesale Corp. at St. Johns Town Center are out of luck, at least for now.
With a 15-3 vote May 27, the Jacksonville City Council denied a rezoning to allow a members-only gas station in a corner of the wholesale retailer's parking lot.
The vote came on Ordinance 2025-0249, which contained a request to rezone Costco's 13.91-acre site at 4901 Gate Parkway from its current Planned Unit Development to a PUD that allowed for the fuel facility.
Votes to deny the rezoning were President Randy White, Vice President Kevin Carrico and members Raul Arias, Joe Carlucci, Matt Carlucci, Rory Diamond, Terrance Freeman, Ju'Coby Pittman, Nick Howland, Reggie Gaffney Jr., Mike Gay, Rahman Johnson, Will Lahnen, Chris Miller and Ron Salem.
Members supporting the rezoning were Ken Amaro, Tyrona Clark-Murray and Jimmy Peluso. Member Michael Boylan was on excused absence from the meeting to celebrate his wedding anniversary.
Costco wanted to add 12 fuel pumps with 24 fueling stations, a fuel kiosk enclosure, curbing and landscape islands. The station was planned on 1.29 acres on the northeast corner of store's parking lot.
Council's May 27 vote constituted final action on the ordinance. It came a week after the Council Land Use and Zoning Committee recommended denial on a 5-1 vote.
Lahnen, whose District 3 includes the Town Center, urged members to deny the rezoning. He said the gas station would cause traffic backups on surrounding streets, would reduce Costco's parking by 15% and would disrupt the internal flow of vehicles on the Costco site.
Clark-Murray said that in denying the request, Council failed to meet its legal requirement to act on "competent, substantial evidence" that would be admissible in court.
"There's no reason for it to be denied," she said. "It's going from PUD to PUD, and it's surrounded by PUD.
"What I think is the applicant's representative is going to sue, because there's no basis for denying this. And in all likelihood, they're going to win."
Arias said Council frequently follows the lead of district Council members on rezonings, which meets the evidence standard since those members are familiar with their districts.
He said members whose districts are adjacent to District 3 and frequently visit that district also opposed the rezoning.
Those members include Carrico, whose District 4 is west of District 3, and Arias himself, whose District 11 abuts on the south.
Arias said the area near Costco was already served by Wawa and Daily's fuel stations. Traffic congestion is already a problem in the area, he said, and the Costco gas station would make it worse.
"It is a bad fit for my district, for Mr. Lahnen's district and for Mr. Carrico's district," Arias said.
The city Planning and Development Department staff had recommended approval of the rezoning on the condition that the applicant, Thomas Engineering Group of Tampa, conduct a traffic circulation report. The Planning Commission voted 6-0 in favor of the rezoning, also with the condition for a traffic report.
Costco opened the 164,000-square-foot wholesale club in 2000.
It was the first Costco in Jacksonville, with two more clubs later built with gas stations.
https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2025/may/28/jacksonville-city-council-says-no-to-costco-on-rezoning-for-gas-station/