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Celina City Leaders React to Costco Coming to Town

Celina City Leaders React to Costco Coming to Town

A national retailer is making its way to Celina in a move that will spark massive economic growth for the city.

The city of Celina on Friday confirmed that a Costco is coming to the city at the southwest corner of Ownsby Parkway and Preston Road.

The deal, which closed on Friday, makes up phase 1 of about 105 acres of retail at the corner ofOwnsby and Preston that will be on both sides of the road, according to Matthew Kiran of REX Real Estate.

“I think what we’re looking at here is the biggest commercial deal ever done in the history of Celina, Texas, to date,” Kiran said.

Phase one of the development will total roughly 200,000-225,000 square feet of commercial retail space, including the 160,000-square-foot Costco building, Kiran said. The total commercial retail space also includes pad sites, restaurant and entertainment uses.

The anticipated ad valorem tax value is estimated to be over $200 million at full buildout. In addition, Kiran said, retail sales are expected to exceed $300 million per year. The development is expected to bring around 1,000 to 1,400 jobs when both sides of the street are complete, he said.

“And to the best of our knowledge, it is the only Costco in the United States of America that’s gone to a community of only 30,000 because they see the potential and growth in Celina,” he added.

The deal is over a year in the making. The project developer is Eric Seitz, of the Seitz Group, a Celina resident with 35 years of shopping center experience, including work on the Costco development in nearby McKinney.

“So if the citizens of Celina want an idea of what that’s going to look like, it’s going to be that quality deal, both sides of the street, restaurants, retail, entertainment, and it’ll look very similar to the McKinney Costco,” Kiran said.

The property was owned by the Owns by family, who were the first owners of the land since the Texas Land Grants. Kiran said the deal involved a major incentive package with the City of Celina and the CelinaEconomic Development Corporation. “Jason Laumer at the city worked on the city’s behalf and Alexis Jackson worked on the EDC’sbehalf for Costco and to work on the roadway improvements to improve traffic and safety and access to the property,” Kiran said. “So the city was highly involved.”

He also added that former Celina Mayor and EDC Director Corbett Howard had been reaching out to Costco for about seven years previously, taking “no” for an answer.

“And it finally got done after all these years,” Kiran said. “So without his efforts, I don’t think we’d be where we are today.”

He added that the deal was a collective effort that included the Seitz Group, the city of Celina, the EDC and Celina City Council members.

“And so it’s really exciting for Celina,” he said. “And what this does is this is the first national retailer to locate to Celina of this size and quality, which is going to open the floodgates for other businesses, restaurants, and lift the tide for everybody in the community.”

“We are thrilled that Costco chose Celina for their exciting new location in North Texas,” stated Alexis Jackson, Executive Director of the Celina Economic Development Corporation. “This mixed-use development on Preston Road will be a highly sought after location for other retailers and small businesses, and we expect to announce other tenants in the very near future.”

“By selecting Celina for their next store in the DFW metroplex, Costco has made an excellent decision, and I know our residents will benefit greatly from this decision,” Celina Mayor SeanTerry stated. “I want to commend the tireless work of our EDC and city staff team whose effort struly paid off with this exciting announcement.”


Source: Audrey Henvey, Star Local Media