Costco to build gas station at Town Center

[SirJax]

...
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.

[marcuscnelson]

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/

[Charles Hunter]

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?

[jaxlongtimer]

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.

[copperfiend]

If allowed, what a nightmare that's going to be. The traffic getting in and out of that store is already bad.

[acme54321]

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

[Josh]

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.

[Charles Hunter]

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.

[jaxlongtimer]

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. 

[Jax_Developer]

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.

[SirJax]

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.

[jaxlongtimer]

City Council votes to deny Costco's gas station at Town Center....

Jacksonville 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/