A Costco in Catoosa County, Ga., could bring local governments and schools nearly $3.5 million annually in sales tax, based on revenue figures.
While most officials remain mum on the name of the county's potential suitor for "Project Hilltop," a source confirmed Wednesday that Costco Wholesale had been discussed as the targeted company.
City and county leaders say they still are in negotiations with the unnamed company and hope to have a signed contract next week.
Requests for information made to company representatives Thursday went unanswered, but a 2005 Food Institute Report stated the average Costco store posts $115 million in average annual sales.
That figure multiplied by Catoosa County's 3 percent local sales tax on goods including groceries comes to $3.45 million, which would be shared among the county, Ringgold, Fort Oglethorpe and the county school system.
The state's cut of the revenue would be $4.6 million, if the negotiations are completed.
"We depend on sales tax so you can imagine the impact to a retailer like that," Catoosa County Commissioner Ken Marks said.
"Any kind of retail helps cities and counties," Fort Oglethorpe City Manager Ron Goulart said.
Both he and Mr. Marks would not say which retailer the county was negotiating with, but Mr. Marks said that, if it were a Costco, the warehouse would draw customers from Tennessee, Georgia and possibly Alabama.
"They don't build a Costco on every corner, if that's the one," he said.
Michael G. Clayman, editor of Warehouse Club Focus trade magazine, said warehouse retailers such as Costco typically draw customers from a 10- or 15-mile radius. With interstate access and other factors, the stores can draw customers from up to 30 miles away, he said.
Under that estimation, a Costco would draw customers from as far away as Cleveland and Jasper, Tenn., and Resaca and Trenton, Ga.
Mr. Clayman, a Costco employee before moving to the magazine, said if the warehouse club came to Catoosa County, potential employees could look forward to some of the better retail jobs in the industry.
Costco, No. 24 on the Fortune 500 rankings, is known for promoting from within and for having solid benefits and pay at the "top end" of the retail scale, he said.
According to a 2005 New York Times article, Costco's average pay was $17 an hour at the time. The pay was 42 percent higher than rival Sam's Club, according to the article.