According to a document submitted to the St. Louis County Board on Tuesday, construction of the region's first Costco Wholesale store is expected to begin this fall.  This proposal has been going back and forth for months, with the Duluth News Tribune initially reporting back in March that the deal was off. Then in May, the Duluth News Tribune reported that Costco has a renewed interest in the property.

WDIO shared a statement from Mayor Emily Larson, which stated: "Together with Costco, the City of Duluth never stopped working every angle to bring this project to our region. While there are public processes yet to come at both the city and the county, we are ready to move forward, and thank Costco and our dedicated staff for continuing to work together."

According to WDIO, the document states:" The City of Duluth will consider providing $1.35 million in tax abatement financing and the St. Louis County Board will consider $650,000 in tax abatement financing."  This tax abatement is for public infrastructure improvements only not for the actual building itself.  A county public meeting on this proposed tax abatement is July 28 at 9:45 a.m.

The site of the store would be at the intersection of West Arrowhead Road and Haines Road in Duluth. The 160,000-square foot store would have 725 parking spaces, and  construction is expected to be finished by the Fall of 2021.

I personally think this would be a great boost to the economy of Duluth providing a lot of jobs and a fantastic shopping option for locals and tourists alike. According to the company's website, a trip to Costco for Northlanders currently means a drive to the Brainerd area, St. Cloud, or to the Twin Cities, where there are 8 metro locations. The addition of a Duluth location would bring the number of Costco stores in Minnesota to 13. It also gives those in Northwestern Wisconsin access to a chain with the nearest location in the Badger State being in as far away as Green Bay and the Madison area.

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