The now-scheduled-to-be-closed Costco is about one mile south from the Hamilton and Butler County line and about eight miles from the site of the new store under construction, close to the line separating Butler and Warren counties and near to the Mason/Deerfield Twp. communities.
“The real estate firm for Costco did inform me during a recent telephone call that the Springdale location will close this fall,” said Andy Kuchta, economic development director for Springdale.
“The Springdale location will probably close right around the time the Liberty Township location opens, which is estimated to be by Thanksgiving,” said Kuchta.
The new Costco now under construction is part of the $139 million, mixed-use Freedom Pointe project along Cox Road north of Liberty Way — near Christ Hospital Medical Center – Liberty Twp. and Interstate 75.
Costco is the anchor retail tenant of the sprawling 88-acre development, which will also feature a wide-range of retail, restaurant and residential offerings all sharing green space grounds.
Costco officials, who did not respond Thursday to a request to comment, have previously said they plan to open the Freedom Pointe store by Thanksgiving of this year.
Surrounding the new 160,529 square-foot Costco will be restaurants, 402 upscale apartments, other retail businesses, medical and other professional offices and a hotel at the southern border of Liberty Twp. across Liberty Way from the Voice of America Metro Park in West Chester Twp.
In recent decades the two Butler County townships have been among the fastest-growing in the region and Ohio.
The $139 million Freedom Pointe development is the second largest in Liberty Twp. history after the 2015 opening of the $350 million Liberty Center, a quarter of a mile away, across I-75.
The Springdale community, which is the home of the former Tri-County Mall, is undergoing a number of economic changes in recent years with the pending loss of its local Costco the latest of those. The mall closed in May and the site is now planned for a mixed used development.
There were discussions, said Kuchta, to convert the Springdale Costco into another version of the retail store but the plans were later abandoned.
“The company’s operations team spent the last few months working on a plan to convert the Springdale location to a Costco Business Center,” he said.
“The determination has been made that this store is too large to be converted in a cost-effective manner, and therefore the store will be closed. The Springdale location is about 150,000 SF, and the (Costco) business centers are around 110,00 square feet on average.”
About the Author
