A final lease for a second Tri-Cities Costco appears to be on the horizon.

Paperwork filed under the state Environmental Policy Act, or SEPA, outlines Costco’s plans to develop a retail warehouse and fuel facility in Richland’s Queensgate area.

The store will be on land managed by the state Department of Natural Resources, or DNR. “The SEPA needs to be completed before we can enter into a lease, so the SEPA is indicating that we are beginning the leasing action with them,” said Courtney James, a communications manager for DNR, in a statement to the Journal of Business. “We are still negotiating terms and will not have a final lease document for several weeks.”

DNR is proposing to lease 29.48 acres, which will be divided into eight parcels.

Paperwork filed under the state Environmental Policy Act, or SEPA, outlines Costco’s plans to develop a retail warehouse and fuel facility in Richland’s Queensgate area.

| Courtesy Department of Natural Resources 

About 20 acres will be dedicated to the new Costco, with the remaining property divided into seven smaller lots for future development, the SEPA paperwork said.

The paperwork also touches on plans for a road easement and future roadwork.

The land is part of a larger 330 acres “that DNR transitioned several years ago from a commercial apple orchard to a mix of residential, public facility and commercially zoned land. DNR’s intent is to enter into a long-term commercial ground lease for the remaining commercial-zoned property as the market develops in the future,” the paperwork said.

The new Costco will be 183,688 square feet, with about 150,000 square feet of sales area. The fueling station will have a 12,537-square-foot fuel canopy, 16 pumps and more.

Construction and related infrastructure improvements are expected to start this summer or fall and take 12 months, with the opening of the new Costco store and fueling facility scheduled for about August 2025, the paperwork said.

Costco’s original Tri-Cities store is off Gage Boulevard in Kennewick. It employs about 530 people and draws 80,000 to 100,000 shoppers a week.