Preparations for Costco opening its first store in the Tri-State area are moving forward at a fast and steady pace.
The Catoosa County Development Authority last week adjusted the original contract concerning site preparations, granted street and electric utility easements on the property and revisited a quitclaim deed to the property.
The modified contract with Wright Brothers Construction, of Charleston, Tenn., includes cost increases of $32,000 and savings of $15,000 for a total increased outlay of $27,000, according Carl Henson, the county’s chief financial officer.
The CDA board agreed these small changes amounted to “small change” on a project that now carries a price tag of about $2,937,000.
Wright Brothers’ winning bid for the project to prepare a 16-acre site at the intersection of Scruggs and Cloud Springs roads for construction by Costco was about $3.4 million. It was decided that compacting dirt would not be required, which resulted in a lower cost, officials said.
CDA officials approved granting an easement to allow placing power lines near Scruggs Road and to allow a temporary access road. That road must be in use for one year before it can be accepted as a public road.
The board approved a change in terms of how the property purchase was executed. After closing the sale of acreage from Larry Armour to the CDA, which in turn is selling the land to Costco, it was discovered that part of the property was in an IRA. The sale would create a tax liability for Armour, so the board transferred the deed back to Armour who in turn will dedicate the land for use as a public road.
Work on the site is moving rapidly, as can be seen from Interstate 75 and Cloud Springs Road, and the store is on track to be open for business in late August. Annual sales taxes collected at the store are projected to generate more than $3 million for Catoosa County and about $4.5 million for the state.