Costco is coming to town
Giving the local economy a much needed boost

Costco’s arrival and its 148,000 square foot facility are likely to bring several hundred full-time jobs to the area and will generate $30 million in construction to the local economy.

Students, who have traveled on NE Stephens and seen the amount of heavy truck traffic in the last month, have seen first hand how anxious Costco must be to finally begin construction of its newest membership warehouse.

Community opinions concerning the super box store becoming part of Roseburg’s landscape differ widely. But the fact is, according to the Member Benefits and Costco Services brochure, the $50 per year cost of membership “offers substantial savings on services that are used everyday in business and personal life.”

Costco is able to sell a high volume at low prices. “Our operating philosophy has been simple. Keep costs down and pass the savings on to our costumers” according to information available at Costco.com. With a large membership base and comparable buying power Costco has acquired, they are able to offer the best possible prices for their members.

Costco will typically sell its Kirkland brand when available and will carry only one brand of a particular product further decreasing marketing costs which is them passed on to its members.

Another method Costco uses to keep their prices near wholesale is eliminating the cost of grocery bags, forcing customers to bring their own bags or use the boxes that are left over from the bulk of items that have been shipped to the store.

To alleviate some of the anticipated increase in traffic, road construction projects planned in the near future, as detailed in Costco’s Traffic Impact Analysis, include extending the southbound right turn lane on NE Stephens Street at Edenbower, adding a signal and extending or adding another lane at the northbound Exit 127 off ramp of I-5, lengthening of the left turn lane of westbound Edenbower onto I-5 southbound and installing a right turn lane on southbound Edenbower at Stewart Parkway.

According to Roseburg Public Works Director Nikki Messenger, a traffic light will also be installed at Kenneth Ford Drive and NE Stephens as part of the Costco construction.

Costco’s demographic profile includes a 2009 population of 150,000 residents in it’s predicted trade area for the Roseburg site that stretches from Bandon to Reedsport and Tri-City to just south of Yoncalla and extends east to Diamond Lake. It is estimated that the Roseburg location will bring $40 million back to Douglas County that is currently being spent by local residents at Costco’s other locations in Eugene and Medford.

Costco will also be locating a 16 pump gas station on the same site as its Roseburg store, making it the most northerly located gas station in Roseburg.

As excavation work continues, Costco construction developers are advising motorists to avoid driving on Northeast Stephens Street, if possible. Increased truck traffic from the construction is likely to cause delays for traffic in the area for the next couple of months.

If all goes as planned, warehouse construction on the 16 acre parcel could begin April. Officials are still planning an opening day Nov. 2010 or sooner.

The Mainstream is a student publication of Umpqua Community College.