MARYSVILLE – Among shiny new meat cases and aisles of merchandise stacked nearly to the ceiling, Costco employees and vendors scurried around the retail chain’s newest store Wednesday.
The 149,000-square-foot warehouse opens at 8 a.m. today, expecting to ring up a few million dollars in sales every week. It also will be the first of a number of new retail giants to welcome Marysville area shoppers.
In the coming weeks, nearby Target and Kohl’s stores will follow, with a long list of other national retailers arriving in the next year.
“We’re anticipating this market will do nothing but grow,” said Joe Burns, an assistant manager at the Marysville Costco. “This store’s anticipated to be one of our top performers in Washington.”
That wouldn’t surprise Caldie Rogers, executive director of the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce, who said the new Costco is just another retail magnet for the area.
The west side of the freeway through Marysville and the Tulalip Indian Reservation already boasts a Wal-Mart supercenter, Home Depot and scores of shops at Seattle Premium Outlets.
On the east side of the freeway, State Avenue serves as the city’s primary retail corridor. Wal-Mart hopes to build two more stores between Arlington and south Marysville as well.
“We’re just beyond excited,” Rogers said. “Especially when you combine it with the other projects, this is becoming a shopping destination.”
Costco is an anchor in the new Lakewood Crossing shopping center, located south of 172nd Street NE in a recently annexed portion of Marysville. Next month, a Target opens there, with a Michaels craft store, a Best Buy, an Office Depot and others to come.
Gene Dunlop, manager of the Marysville Costco, said customers have asked for a store in the area for years – the next nearest locations for the wholesale shopping chain are in southeast Everett and Burlington to the north.
The store, Costco’s third regular-sized warehouse outlet in Snohomish County, includes improved lighting and white ceilings and walls, which makes it brighter than older stores.
Burns said it also includes more room for refrigerated items and produce than other Costco stores. The location also includes a fuel station and a tire center.
About 240 people have jobs at the store, where wages start at $10 an hour.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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