Costco construction crews start demolition at site of new store in Pittsfield Township
Crews have started demolishing the industrial office buildings at the Pittsfield Township site where a new Costco store will be constructed.
Jeff Sainlar | AnnArbor.com
Construction plans for the store, located on a portion of the Airport Plaza industrial park near the corner of State and Ellsworth, call for demolition of eight existing office buildings. The land is owned by local developer Jake Haas.
The tenants in the office buildings relocated this summer, and demolition started on one of the buildings this week.
The 17-acre site is currently fenced off, bustling with construction crews and equipment working on the demolitions.
Once the buildings are demolished, Costco plans to build a 148,000-square-foot store with 720 parking spaces and a gasoline station.
There is no official timeline for the store opening, but representatives have said the store could be open by summer 2012.
Final plans for the Costco warehouse store received approval from the Pittsfield Township Planning Commission in early August.
Before finding the site in Pittsfield Township, Costco pulled out of a deal to build its first Washtenaw County location in Scio Township in 2006. The chain withdrew the proposal after a large group of Scio residents raised concerns about the development.
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.
Comments
hermhawk
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 2:55 p.m.
Come on Costco. I will be there the moment the doors open, just like I was when ALDI's opened in 2009.
4mytown
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 8:27 p.m.
I am happy to see a quality company like Costco coming in, not just because they offer great products, but also because they are a good corporate citizen and employer. I wonder what will happen to all the beautiful trees along Airport Road? Hope they can keep most of them. It gives the area some feeling of permanence.
Trouble
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 4:34 p.m.
Mega Thanks to Scio Twp!
OLDTIMER3
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 3 p.m.
I personaly think the Jackson ,Scio store would have been a better choice, but they backed off because of a few complainers.
nixon41
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 2:40 p.m.
A long time coming. Glad you will be here.
jns131
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 2:21 p.m.
Any plans for a Menards? I have been getting fliers from them and nothing around here. I do see them mostly in the Flint area.
Basic Bob
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 4:59 p.m.
Menard's was snubbed by the township for a Carpenter Road location.
nixon41
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 2:41 p.m.
ther is one in Jackson
nixon41
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 2:41 p.m.
There's one in Jackson
Larry Works
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 2:17 p.m.
Personally very glad Costco pressed ahead with a viable, local solution. They are a perfect fit in this area and will be good neighbors. They have sound and respectful employee policies, voluntarily upgraded their sustainable seafood policy in March and in June quietly began requiring their bagged produce suppliers to test their products for a broad range of E. Coli bacteria. They have also smartly gone ahead with testing ALL of their ground beef even though the federal government has yet to require regulation of this known source of infection after 4 years of study. In fact, the proposed regulations are stalled in the Office of Management and Budget since they were submitted in January. Low prices and social responsibility around here are a winning combination. Please note, the last line of this story is factually inaccurate. It was NOT a large group of Scio residents that raised concerns. But rather a LOUD group of Scio residents. If you look at the Scio Township resident survey of April 2007, you'll find this quote "There is also a large constituency that would like a Costco.". This despite the fact that Costco was NOT specifically mentioned in the resident survey. <a href="http://www.twp.scio.mi.us/pdfs/Survey%20Findings" rel='nofollow'>http://www.twp.scio.mi.us/pdfs/Survey%20Findings</a>
ArborMeow
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 12:06 p.m.
Yes! Let the $13/case San Pelligrino flow!!
Kristine
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 6:41 a.m.
My membership renewal is due in October. I was debating whether or not to renew, because I was tired of driving 30 miles each way to the Costco stores in Livonia or Brighton. This news has pushed me over to the other side. I'm renewing my membership tomorrow. (And, yes, I've been driving 60 miles round-trip to shop at Costco versus driving 1.5 miles to get to Sam's Club.)
johnnya2
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 4:45 a.m.
Summer of 2012? I think that would be rather quick depending on the weather.
A2comments
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 10:41 a.m.
Costco builds a store in 100 days once they start construction. I believe you'll see an open earlier than that.
Marshall Applewhite
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 1:56 a.m.
They're tearing down those industrial office buildings?!? Those were historic buildings! It should have been designated a historic district! The sky is falling................
nixon41
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 2:43 p.m.
Historic my foot
Jen
Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 11:47 p.m.
Did they figure out what they are doing about the traffic in that area once its up and running?
jns131
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 2:24 p.m.
Its next to an airport, air bus em in.
worldchamp
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 8:27 a.m.
Hey, don't worry, It's Costco and NOT Wal-Mart. It seems most here don't care for them.
sellers
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 12:54 a.m.
The Ann Arbor and Pittsfield township boards have met and there are plans for that intersection of State and Ellsworth, as well as improvements to Airport. The WCRC has drafts and the Pittsfield board has a master plan for that section of the township, turning it into an modern urban meca. I'm sure construction will lag on the roadways, but it was at least planned out.
A2Realilty
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 12:09 a.m.
My understanding is that they will be installing many crosswalks with an accompanying citation-writing police officer.
moonpez
Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 11:12 p.m.
fantastic!!!
Bob Martel
Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 10:06 p.m.
Truly good news! Welcome to Ann Arbor, Costco!
Urban Sombrero
Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 9:58 p.m.
I'm incredibly excited about this. It'll be nice to have a warehouse type store in town that's not Wal-Mart owned. And, it's in close proximity to my brother and Sister-in-law's business, so hopefully the added traffic will help them in the long run.
Homeland Conspiracy
Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 9:29 p.m.
Take that Wal-Mart!
jns131
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 2:26 p.m.
That will not stop Wal Mart from getting business. I love Wal Mart and I love Sams Club. Sams has things I can't get anywhere else, for cheap. I will check out Costco but figure I'll stay loyal to my Sams Club.
Halter
Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 8:38 p.m.
Yay!...One of the positive things coming our way in the coming year...glad to see that progress is being made --- compare this with the years and years of squabbling going on in Ann Arbor for even simple projects -- no wonder businesses are looking elsewhere...