From Staff Reports

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Costco announced on Feb. 17 that it officially withdrew its application with the City of Asheville for a proposed massive Costco warehouse store at Enka Commerce Park in Candler. 

It would have been Western North Carolina’s first Costco.

In the aftermath, officials from the N.C.Department of Transportation and the City of Asheville have since reached back out to Costco in a quest to reopen discussions and find a compromise on these requirements. 

The company cited rising infrastructure costs and additional requirements from reviewing agencies as the reason for withdrawing from what Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) described in a Feb. 19 article as a “highly anticipated project.”

However, Costco pointed to what it termed increased costs for required off-site and on-site improvements — and a lengthening of the anticipated timeline. 

As a result, “the development is not moving forward at this time,” AI Overview noted on March 1.

Following is a statement from the withdrawal announcement letter by a project manager on behalf of Costco:

"Since submitting the application, additional requirements from reviewing agencies related to both on-site and off-site improvements have increased the project’s overall scope, timeline and anticipated costs. As a result, the applicant has elected to withdraw the current submittal from the review process at this time."

Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer told the website Asheville Watchdog after Costco’s announcement that “NCDOT apparently had imposed requirements on Costco to make ‘fairly significant’ improvements to Smoky Park Highway that likely contributed to the corporation’s decision to withdraw.”

Councilman Bo Hess also released a statement in response, saying, in part:

“Today’s news that Costco has withdrawn its development application is deeply disappointing for me and for the people of Asheville. This project represented more than a store. It meant real competition in our grocery market, lower prices for families, high-wage jobs for workers, and significant property-tax revenue that helps fund public safety, infrastructure, and services our community depends on[...] I worked hard to help move this project forward because I believe Asheville deserves economic opportunity, strong employers, and more choices for residents. Unfortunately, when we make it too difficult for responsible investment to succeed, we risk losing opportunities that benefit working families and our local economy.”

Meanwhile, Councilwoman Kim Roney, who is challenging Manheimer for mayoralty, stated the following in response to the application withdrawal:

“I am so disappointed that this opportunity to welcome a Costco to our community hasn’t worked out, but I’ve advocated to bring them here and will continue to do so. 

“I’ve reached out to the Costco team to understand the hold up for this application. Because the DOT requirements for Smokey Park Highway were named a major factor, our Community & Economic Development staff must understand the deeper infrastructure issues for future development of this site.” 

In December, Roney said a Costco in Asheville would generate 300 jobs, keep the cost of local groceries and gas down, and bring millions in sales tax revenue to the city.

The closest Costco warehouses are located in Greenville, S.C., and Spartanburg, S.C., both of which are more than an hour’s drive from Asheville.