Plans for the world's largest Costco warehouse are under review, but customers would only be able to shop in part of it
- Costco is seeking to build a new 241,342 square-foot warehouse in Fresno, California.
- The facility would replace an existing location and combine ecommerce fulfillment under one roof.
If all goes according to plan, Fresno, California, will be home to the largest Costco warehouse in the world.
The proposed 241,342 square-foot facility would yank the title from the current champion in Salt Lake City, Utah, which spans a staggering 235,000 square feet.
Not all warehouse space would be available for endless browsing — about 47,000 square feet would be dedicated to e-commerce fulfillment, which is typically handled at separate dedicated locations. Locating e-commerce and traditional retail under one roof is a newer move for Costco, which tends to lag behind competitors in that area. Target has gone all-in on using its stores to fulfill orders, and Walmart has used its stores for e-commerce fulfillment for years.
The Salt Lake City location also opened as a hybrid concept, with a general members store and a dedicated business center for commercial customers under one roof.
The company says it does not comment on locations opening more than three months out, but the city of Fresno published a detailed report last week as part of its environmental impact review. Residents have a total of 45 days to comment on the matter.
In addition to the four-football-field warehouse, plans for the project include 32 fuel pumps, 889 parking stalls, a drive-through car wash, and a cross-docking logistics hub, all on a 22.4 parcel of former orchard land.
The city estimates the location will see more than 10,000 visits on a typical weekday, jumping to 14,000 on weekends, according to the Fresno Bee.
Costco and the city say the new warehouse will replace a smaller one just three miles away that has served the area since 1985.
Any way you slice it, the new location is considerably larger than the company's average warehouse, which is closer to 146,000 square feet, per last year's annual report.