Construction should start in spring on Costco store proposed for Chaska

A Costco and a senior housing development are planned for a 123-acre site in Chaska once owned by IDS.

Costco Wholesale has about 17 acres of land under contract, according to Bobby Atkinson, developer for the project. He and his partners purchased the land last year from Ameriprise Financial for an undisclosed sum.

Construction should start in the spring, with the Costco project being completed in late 2021, he said.

United Properties bought 27 acres to develop senior housing, part of about 66 acres devoted to senior housing and commercial development such as apartments, a strip mall and Costco.

That project also should be done in late fall 2021, Atkinson said.

The Chaska wholesale club will bring the number of Twin Cities locations to nine, including Costco's Minneapolis Business Center that opened in 2018. Costco also has locations in Baxter, Rochester and St. Cloud.

Construction on a location in Duluth is expected to begin in the fall with completion by fall 2021. The Duluth location is getting a $1.35 million tax break due to rock and water issues on the site. The geology in Duluth often makes construction much more expensive, according to developers.

A Costco distribution center in Owatonna — the Issaquah, Wash.-based wholesaler's first in Minnesota — will open in October.

The Chaska Costco, which will be near the Kohls, will be 164,000 square feet and include a liquor store.

Currently, a learning center and hotel, with 147 rooms, is on the property and is still operating, but other options are being considered.

"We've got hotel operators, an apartment group that wants to retrofit, a church and a school system all considering it," Atkinson said.

The development includes two man-made lakes, Lake McKnight and Big Woods Lake, and is near the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and Hazeltine National Golf Club.

John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633