BJ”™s will soon have competition in Yorktown.
The town”™s planning board this month unanimously approved a long-delayed plan that would bring a Costco Wholesale Club and members-only gas station to 3200 Crompond Road.
At its Nov. 9 meeting, the board approved a 151,000-square-foot Costco store on the 19-acre parcel near the intersection of Crompond Road and the Taconic State Parkway. BJ”™s Wholesale Club, a national rival of Costco, operates a store at 3303 Crompond Road.
The $60 million project proposed by Garden City-based developer Retail Store Construction Co. – a subsidiary of Breslin Realty Development Corp.- dates to 2009. After legal delays, all State Environmental Quality Review Act requirements were completed by TRC Engineers of Hawthorne earlier this year.
The board spent more than an hour amending the resolution, including adjustments to lighting, road improvements and demolition plans. After the plan was unanimously approved, residents attending the meeting joined in applause and an “Oy vey” was heard from a member of the planning board.
Town Supervisor Michael Grace, a longtime supporter of the project, said he hoped the Costco would become the anchor for high-end commercial development in Yorktown.
“We”™re thrilled that the plan was finally approved,” Grace said. “It probably took longer than it should have, but notwithstanding we”™re thrilled because we”™ve been trying to bring investment into Yorktown. Hopefully this is just the beginning of continued investments into the town”™s economy.”
Grace said real estate property tax revenue from Costco will benefit both the town and the Yorktown school district, which he called “significant in these days.”
The store will include a four-bay loading dock and tire center, 610 on-site parking spaces and a 12-pump gas station for Costco members with three pump islands. The on-site gas station was strongly opposed by independent gas station owners in Yorktown.
The project hit a snag in April when three parties ”” Yorktown Smart Growth, a citizens development watchdog group, Yorktown Gas Mart Inc., and Quick Stop Central Ave. Inc.- filed a lawsuit against town officials and Breslin Realty Development claiming the big-box store would hurt local gas station owners and seeking to have the town”™s approval of the project overturned. Also named in the suit was BJ”™s, which, along with Costco, was issued a gas station permit by the town in December.
A state Supreme Court judge handling the case last month ordered that the challenges to the Costco and BJ”™s projects be argued as separate cases.
The lawsuit, reflecting a sentiment shared by several town residents at public hearings, also alleged the arrival of Costco would create more traffic problems along an already-congested Crompond Road. The developer estimated the site would generate an additional 758 vehicles per hour.
The Costco site was formerly occupied by the Yorktown Country Inn, which closed more than 20 years ago. The vacated motel was last used as a county-run homeless shelter, which Grace said closed roughly 10 years ago. The deteriorated, graffiti-covered building, which will be demolished, has sat vacant since.
Grace said Costco wants to begin construction “as soon as practical.” Representatives from Breslin Realty Development could not be reached for comment at presstime.
“Hopefully the demolition occurs very shortly,” Grace said. “The developers were anxious to get approval, so I anticipate early next year they can get things underway.”
Costco, headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, also operates stores in Yonkers, New Rochelle and Port Chester. Only the New Rochelle warehouse store also includes an on-site gas station.
