Why We Don't Have a Costco Yet

Some people support our land-use concerns but they want a Costco store and believe that Developers Diversified Realty's (DDR) proposed mall at Masonite will bring one.  These folks need to know that Costco was in the process of siting a store inside the City of Ukiah until the negotiations were suddenly broken and Costco started talking to DDR instead.

These facts are known because the City of Ukiah itself was part of the negotiation, because the Costco site involved both a Redwood Business Park parcel and an adjacent parcel that had City involvement.  This would be an appropriate site for a Costco, in an existing shopping district, that would minimize impacts.

The facts around this incident have been confirmed both by city officials and Redwood Business Park management.  

The Costco negotiations had gone on for over a year as the parties negotiated over details of the siting. There was even hope it would open for Christmas 2007. Then Costco pulled out and the name "Costco" appears on one of the proposed site plans for DDR's mega-mall at the Masonite factory site.

This incident is a perfect example of how the Masonite mall would compete with our existing retail centers.  The 700,000 square feet and 3900 space parking lot originally proposed by DDR would cannibalize our existing retail, leading to more empty store fronts throughout the city.

It also shows that keeping the Masonite property zoned industrial is not about stopping more retail.  It's  about keeping industrial land for good paying jobs for the long term. We will get that Costco store back,where it belongs and we will have a place for good paying jobs so people can shop there!