Costco opening Friday in Carson City

When Costco's doors are finally opened to customers at 8 a.m. Friday, four years of anticipation about the membership warehouse coming to Carson City will finally become reality.

A crew of 205 will welcome bargain hunters who pay $45 to $100 a year to buy toilet paper by the case and fresh cinnamon rolls in a spartan discount wonderland.

"About 50 of those folks are transfers from other Costcos, people who wanted to come here," warehouse manager Bob Tote said Wednesday. "Some are from as far away as Florida, from Northern Washington, all the way down to Temecula, Calif."

Tote is a native Nevadan who said he intends to be here for a long time, having turned down other opportunities within Costco to remain in this area.

Everyone who didn't transfer in was hired locally. About 20 of the opening staffers are seasonal employees, he said.

Tote said the construction and opening of the Carson City store went well, especially compared to tales he's heard of other openings.

"Not that there haven't been rough spots, but the local building and government officials just sat down with us and we worked through them, no big deal," he said.

Though the store carries only about 3,800 to 4,000 different items at any one time, compared with 40,000 in a typical grocery store, Costco does offer more than just canned or boxed staples.

Departments include fresh bakery, fresh meat, fresh produce, gourmet deli, rotisserie chicken, optical department with its own optometrist, pharmacy, one-hour photo service, food court, tire center and even a gas station.

Costco was looking at a South Carson Street location west of Wal-Mart as early as 1996, according to Larry McPhail, deputy official with the building department. But a location near Jacks Valley Road just south of the Carson City/Douglas County line, where Home Depot and Target stores recently located, was also discussed.

In December 1999, Carson City Manager John Berkich revealed discussions were taking place with Costco about building on city land on Old Clear Creek Road across from Fuji Park.

City officials moved quickly to clear the way for the project, designating 15 acres of city property a redevelopment zone in January 2000 so the land could be sold without a competitive bidding process, conducting a Major Project Review on Costco's proposal and rezoning the property to commercial before the month was out.

By the end of April, Costco and the city had a redevelopment agreement completed, though negotiations with neighboring property owners, including the U.S. Forest Service, continued into the summer. A portion of the $3.6 million received for the property was committed to mitigating the impacts on neighboring property, grading the property, expanding the intersection of Clear Creek Road and Highway 395 and installing a stoplight. The city netted about $2.1 million on the sale.

The community had a brief scare in August when Costco officials said the store would not open until March 2001, but a few days later the date was revised back to this month.

Since Costco is estimated to bring in $1 million annually in sales taxes, the earlier opening date was a relief to city officials whose budget had been stung by the loss of potential sale revenues to the Target and Home Depot stores just outside the community.