Costco to Open 15th Alberta Location in St. Albert

ST. ALBERT, AB, April 30, 2013 /CNW/ - St. Albert, Alberta, and area residents and businesses will now have a Costco store closer to home as Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. sets to open a warehouse, liquor store and gas bar in about six months at the north end of the city.

"St. Albert has long been a sought after community in the metro Edmonton market.  This new warehouse provides added convenience for members currently commuting in from St. Albert and other communities around Edmonton," says Costco's Russ Miller, Senior Vice-president & General Manager, Western Canada, adding that the new Costco Wholesale warehouse in St. Albert will be their sixth in the Edmonton area and 15th in the province. "Costco makes site locations based on their understanding of their members, such as where they reside and how far they travel to get to a store, quantity of purchasing and other analytics that determine demand and the potential profitability of a new store."

"An international retailer/wholesaler like Costco is a welcome and important addition to the community. Their presence will be a catalyst to further development by Cameron Developments of the 46 acres of land adjacent to Costco, as well as providing local jobs," says Guy Boston, Executive Director, Economic Development Division for the City of St. Albert. Costco typically hires 200-250 people to work at each location, and about half of the positions are full time.

"The City worked with Landrex, the proponents of the development, and with Costco on ensuring this complex deal was accomplished as a win for all involved," adds Boston. St. Albert is set to double its population over the next couple of decades and currently, there are approximately 7,500 units of residential housing under development or being planned for that growth. St. Albert currently has 24,000 households that are home to some 61,000 people. "Residential growth provides the labour market needed for economic development; and St. Albert's growth is picking up the pace. This is good for existing businesses and makes it attractive for developers and investors. St. Albert is ranked among the top five places to invest in Alberta by the Canadian Real Estate Investment Network because of the concrete investments and policy decisions that we have made to become an employment center. Coupled with the over 600 acres of light industrial lands that have recently come on line, St. Albert is on the shopping list of investors and developers looking for sites."

The store is located at 1075 St. Albert Trail south of Neil Ross Road. With over 148,000 square feet of retail space, the new warehouse will feature many of the same great specialty departments offering some 4,000 top quality products as are found in the other regional locations, at low warehouse prices. Costco offers a wide range of products and services to meet its members' personal needs while helping small businesses save on items for resale and the supplies they need.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale currently operates 626 warehouses in North America and elsewhere in the world.  In 1985, Costco Wholesale opened its first warehouse in Canada in Burnaby, B.C.  Costco now boasts 85 warehouses in Canada, including 14 in Alberta, 5 in the Edmonton area and has just under 25,000 employees in Canada, including over 4,200 in Alberta alone.

SOURCE: City of St. Albert

Contacts:

Guy Boston
Executive Director
City of St. Albert
780-459-1653

Ron Damiani
Spokesperson
Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd.
613-221-2004