Is Costco Back On the Table At North DeKalb Mall?
Decatur Metro | October 29, 2015 | 10:06 am
Tomorrow’s News Today is reporting that conditions may finally be right for Costco to execute on their 2008 plan to build a new intown location at North DeKalb Mall.
Nothing is set in stone at this point, but TNT lays out a variety of developments and details that make it seem like a revived North DeKalb Mall could transform to include a Costco in the coming years.
Whatcha think?
Don’t tease us! This is too good to be true…Like Christmas in July.
Please let it be real this time!
This would be great for this depressed area. The mall has been in a pathetic state for years. Adding a Costco would bring this place back to life. Hope it happens soon!
Just about anything would be better than what the current situation is. With the amount of available space, could we not see a similar construction on the magnitude of Atlantic Station or Emory Point revitalization going in? It is definitely some prime real estate to revamp a somewhat blighted area with better investment.
Of course, will all this along with the new Suburban Plaza and construction on N. Decatur, I sure will love all the new traffic coming my way… :/
Traffic HELL!! BUT….
I hope the neighbors will be supportive this time around. Having Costco on the east side would be great.
Were neighbors not supportive the last time? I don’t recall…
The last proposal (and proposed construction) raised concerns about increasing runoff / flooding in an area where many homes are in the floodplain already. South Fork of Peachtree Creek is right behind the mall, so is the Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve. If memory serves, the advantage here is that if Macy’s goes, Costco captures a location where there’s enough floor space + # parking spots they wanted (and they wanted the parking spots directly next to the store). This was not the case last time around (Macy’s was not budging).
Great info! Thanks. Glad I asked!
The community was always supportive of Costco coming to N. Dekalb Mall. We were not supportive of the early plans to build a 6 acre parking lot into the floodplain, but we kept working with them and came up with a plan that worked for everyone. At the last minute, Costco pulled out due to the economy. They stated that they were freezing all plans to build new stores.
Cat is correct that the last time around, the most difficult piece of the redevelopment to include Costco was Macy’s. They own their building and refused to sell or relocate. I don’t have any knowledge of the current plans, but I know if Macy’s is willing to sell that the redevelopment of N. Dekalb Mall will be much less complicated.
They didn’t freeze plans to build new stores. They went to Brookhaven and built there after opposition in this area. So we missed out on the 8 years or so of growth. Seems to have worked out pretty well for the Brookhaven location.
If memory serves, it was specifically the potential runoff from the Costco gas station that put the brakes on the plans just long enough to have the deal be killed when the economy tanked. Costco was insisting on having a gas station included in the deal but struggled to get the go-ahead from the environmental folks (not sure if county or federal).
There was no real opposition from neighborhood groups.
I’m not always in lockstep with the Decatur mindset, so I need to ask which way I’m supposed to think:
1. This is right up there with Trader Joe’s and Whole Paycheck, so it’s totally cool.
2. It’s Wal*Mart all over again. Protest..
3. Meh. Just another big store bringing more traffic.
Ha! One thing differentiating Costco from Walmart is how they treat their employees- excellent wages and benefits with long term employment for those that want it.
Costco is definitely not WalMart (though Walmart owns Sam’s Club, which is a direct competitor of Costco). It has long been famous for being one of the most forward-thinking and benevolent employers in the country, and also for offering some of the best customer service of any retailer in the land. I’ve been a member for more than a decade, even though the closest locations are Perimeter or Brookhaven (or more often than not, Cumberland on the way back from visiting my folks in Smyrna). I’d be infinitely more excited to have a Costco adjacent to Decatur than Trader Joe’s or WF.
There is a rumor that the Costco could go on the corner of N. Decatur and Church where the car dealership is now. It could include apartments and be like another Fuqua development. I am not sure how much land there is, so I think that N. DeKalb mall is a better site.
Yes, this would be much better than the crap-fest that is the current North DeKalb Mall.
In defense of North Dekalb Mall, their Santa is fantastic
PREACH
I don’t think anyone would miss The Most Depressing Macy’s in the World. Although it doesn’t seem big enough for a Costco, and who wants a mini-Costco. That’s kind of missing the point.
This is terrible. Love that Macy’s. Nothing depressing about it. They still have petites, unlike Northlake. Now will have to fight traffic to Lenox or Perimeter.
I love that Macy’s too.
Please let this be true!!! Tired of driving to to the three locations that are nearly the same distance from this area. Just personal taste, but even with two Sam’s Clubs closer we stil prefer Costco.
This would be so awesome. I know this side of town can support better options than what’s currently available at N. DeKalb Mall and Northlake!
I’m somewhat baffled by the appeal of Costco. We joined for one reason, the low cost prescriptions, so I’m there every 90 days (Brookhaven location). With a few exceptions, the prices aren’t really any better than Kroger or Walmart, etc. and it takes forever to do any shopping there. My theory is that Costco is successful because it lets upper-middle class people feel like they are being frugal, but the membership requirement means they don’t have to mix with the people who shop at Walmart.
I”m a big Costco fan, but you’re right about some of the prices. I’ve learned what’s a good deal and what’s not, so I tend to buy the same things that are a good price, over and over. Also, I bought a laptop from them a few years ago because they provided free tech support (I don’t remember how long, maybe ninety days, but could have been as much as a year) AND they extended the manufacturer’s warranty by a year. The price was in line with what I would have paid anywhere else.
Plus with two teen boys in the house it’s just nice to buy vats of granola or ten pounds of frozen chicken wings at one time.
Return policy at Costco is also great- they take almost any non-perishable item back, for a long time. I also agree about knowing what is a good deal- for us, party items, cheese, Mexican Coke, seasonal items (outdoor table umbrella for half cost and twice the quality of HD or Lowe’s) and some electronics are very well priced.
So what are the membership criteria for joining Costco? How do the criteria keep out the riff raft?
$55 a year membership. No other criteria.
Oh I get it. It costs something. Similar cost to Sam’s Club. As a veteran of Fedco in Los Angeles and Sam’s Club here, can’t see that these warehouse clubs have much of an elitist edge. I was thinking that maybe Costco required you to have a hybrid or trendy leggings or at least a master’s degree…
With Golden Corral buffet in the same center, it would be American mass consumption at it’s finest!
Costco is great for dog food and liquor, but liquor is not available in most locations.
Pro tip: Instacart will do your Costco shopping and deliver to your door. No membership required.
Really? The one time I used Instacart, they shopped at Kroger and it was the wrong one so some of the items weren’t available. Can you actually specify the store to the Instacart shoppers? I keep meaning to use Instacart more but have less motivation now that all household children can be left (relatively) safely alone.
As much as I love Costco, it is true that you have to look out for what is actually a deal and what isn’t. It can be easy to splurge if not careful. One thing will keep us going… toilet paper. The Costco brand TP is simply perfect. Never considered going to Costco to avoid the Walmart crowd. It’s not really that much different. I shop all over the place and that’s just not something I ever thought about.
If you spend more than $5000 per year at Costco (if you buy groceries, gas, clothes, etc it’s very easy to do) then your $100 fee for an executive membership is balanced out by the 2% reward Costco gives to its “Executive” members. But you non-Costco types seem like you have it all figured out, so don’t listen to me or any of these other smarty pants types trying to save you money 🙂
As others have pointed out, not everything is a “deal” but there is literally nothing there that is a rip-off or high margin item. Typical markup is 10%, and they never mark up more than 15%. Compare that to other low cost or even regular cost merchants. Very often there are incredible deals to be had, especially on things like clothes and food! It saves so much time not having to buy a few items here, few items there, etc just to save money.
I don’t work for costco by the way, but I do love shopping there!