New Costco to double parking, land footprint of current Fort Myers store

The new Costco in Fort Myers will have more than twice as many parking spaces while sitting on more than twice as much land as the current wholesale club in south Fort Myers that has been operating since 1999. 

Costco’s number of parking spaces will grow from 440 to 915, and the land footprint will grow from 14.29 acres to 31.95 acres after relocating, increases of 108% and 123.6%, respectively. 

The size of the store itself will grow by 15.2%, from 137,124 to 158,000 square feet, according to engineering plans filed with the city of Fort Myers. 

Barry Bland, general manager of the Fort Myers Costco, said he and his team are excited about the pending move but could not comment further, as the real estate and construction details are being handled at the corporate level. Costco could not be reached for comment on the timetable for breaking ground and completing the new store. 

Costco paid $10.1 million in January 2000 for the warehouse building it still uses at 7171 Cypress Lake Drive. The site previously had been a Scotty’s Home Builders store. That company closed the store in the late 1990s, and the entire chain went out of business in 2004. 

Costco paid $55 million May 12 for 55 acres for a new store between Colonial Boulevard, Plantation Road and Metro Parkway. Of the 55 acres, 31.95 acres will be used by Costco, while the remaining acreage will be divided and later sold as outparcels to other businesses, said Chase Mayhugh, who helped broker the deal for Mayhugh Commercial Advisors. 

That area has an average daily traffic count of about 70,000 vehicles along Colonial, 40,000 along Metro and 15,000 along Plantation. 

“It’s easier access for everybody,” Mayhugh said. “More parking. I think it’s going to service Cape Coral and help Lehigh now that it’s more of a central location. I know some people don’t want to see it move, but this one’s going to be a lot safer getting in and out of.” 

Parcels measuring 2.19 and 3.12 acres will front Colonial Boulevard, according to the site plan, along with a road for entering and exiting the store. 

There will be a 7.77-acre stormwater retention pond fronting Plantation Road, along with another entrance and southbound exit. 

There will be two outparcels fronting Metro Parkway, as well as a third entrance and exit.

Mayhugh said the parcels along Metro Parkway are expected to be used for industrial purposes, as they are not large enough to support multifamily development. He added that the sites fronting Colonial Boulevard will likely attract quick-service restaurants, giving Costco the ability to control the overall development and select neighboring tenants. 

As for the timetable to build, Mayhugh speculated it would not take long for a groundbreaking. 

“I would imagine they don’t want to sit on this land very long,” Mayhugh said. “There’s a lot of capital tied up. I would imagine in 12 to 14 months, we should start to see quite a bit of progress there.” 

The land had been on the market for 21 years, as the previous owners, Carcione Family Partners LLC, did not want to break it up into parcels and were waiting for the right buyer and price. Costco had been in negotiations to buy it for 19 months. 

“Once they start going through due diligence, they were getting acquainted with the process and engaging all the civil engineers and architectural firms and things of that nature,” Mayhugh said of the early going. “As time goes on, you get more and more confidence. Because as a buyer starts going through due diligence, they’re spending money. They’re kind of more committed. So, it was a very positive sign that Costco didn’t really stall. They just kept going all the way, having meetings with the city.” 

The Plantation Road extension, built after planning began in 2002, boosted the land’s value between listing and sale. 

“It’s a larger deal for us,” Mayhugh said. “We don’t do $55 million deals every day. I wish we did. 

“It was a lot of fun to be a part of this. We’re grateful to have had the opportunity. To have that client and that family stick with us through the whole process for 21 years, to keep a client satisfied, that can be difficult sometimes. My dad did a great job adding a lot of value over the years and creating the value so we could achieve that purchase price.”