MARYSVILLE After this, the deluge.
Shoppers thronged a long-awaited new Costco at the Lakewood Crossing shopping center on Sept. 21, promising to fill the Marysville city treasury while offering relief to clogged city streets.
The first of many new, national-chain, brand-name big box stores, the 149,000-square-foot store saw a line of early morning shoppers unleashed into the gleaming new store. Only 18 months after plans were announced the $30 million store opened, staking Marysvilles expansion west of the freeway and ushering in a wave of competitors.
Lake Stevens resident Bill Clough was the first customer through the check stands with his purchase of a Hewlett-Packard Turion64 laptop. The $1,150.99 purchase kept both Clough and his money close to home; usually he stops at the Silverlake store in Everett or the Burlington Costco.
Im just ecstatic that they are this close now; I dont have to cross over I-5 too badly now, Clough said as he was congratulated by front-end supervisor Carol Green, a Costco employee for nine years. He said theres a big reduction in time and hassle for him to come to Marysville rather than fight traffic on the freeways to the Everett location.
Its probably a little closer to where I live in Lake Stevens but I would rather come here.
According to Marysville Finance Director Sandy Langdon, the citys cut of Cloughs purchase will be $9.83. Using the average tax receipts generated per square foot of retail space, Langdon expects the store to yield the city $500,000 in revenue per year. Company officials say the average store does $120 million in business; top performers reach $300 million in annual sales.
It helps the coffers a little bit, Langdon laughed. Im hoping they can throw in the Hummer that comes out of here. Id like to see that happen.
The store will start with 260 employees initially, but that could rise to 320 as business picks up. Store manager Gene Dunlap said company policy restricts him to 25 salaried employees and no more than half of his staff can be part-time workers. Even those receive full benefits after six months of employment, and many of his workers will actually reduce the cars on the freeway: many people were commuting from Stanwood and points north to other stores and the Issaquah corporate headquarters. He said they jumped at the chance to cut the commute.
The brand-new building was still being finished when his team started filling the shelves. Standing in his Spartan office he nodded to a leak map with eight Xs that was so he could show the contractor where the new metal roof was letting the rain through. A 22-year employee, for eight years he managed the Bellingham store, where he lives. He said 90 percent of his employees are from the immediate area.
An hour after the ribbon cutting, Don and Lynn Mallam of Granite Falls had two carts filled to overflowing as they took a break near the wine cases. They used to shop at the Mount Vernon Costco but said the 18-mile trip to Lakewood took them only 20 minutes.
Its so much nicer to have a store thats closer, said Don.
The couple estimated they spend at least $350 each trip, at about six week intervals. Gesturing to her two groaning carts, Lynn shrugged and laughed.
Were stocking up on sale stuff, she said.
The store represents the culmination of years of city efforts to attract new commercial activity after decades of residential houses built in and around the city. Houses dont generate the revenue retail does, and Marysville town leaders pursued a match with suitors like NASCAR to no avail. Now comes the retail party, with a new Kohls store at 116th Street to open Oct. 4, Target next door to Costco a day later, and several more on the horizon.
Less than a mile away from Lakewood Crossing is the site of a planned Wal-Mart with 204,000 square feet of space, and another smaller Wal-Mart has been approved for the intersection of SR 9 and SR 528. The first will border directly on future Marysville boundaries, and the later is within city limits on the eastern edge. The Marysville Wal-Mart on SR 9 will go to bid soon and should be finished 13 months after construction starts, according to Wal-Mart spokesperson Jennifer Holder.
For Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall the Costco opening is just the low-hanging fruit.
This is just the start, Kendall said. We still have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of work to do on transportation still, especially on this side now that we have to be able to move people in and out of these stores, not just this one but all the new stores.
Already existing nearby merchants are complaining about traffic and access. Village Restaurant owner Curry Smythe complained to the Marysville City Council last week about difficulties for his patrons reaching his Smokey Point restaurant adjacent to Lakewood Crossing. Smythe was complaining about construction activity before Costco opened. Other Lakewood landowners have registered their views that the city needs to do something. The earliest option will be a $5 million bridge crossing the railroad tracks west of the freeway. Marysville just hired a consultant to study which route to take for the flyover and Kendall said that report has to be in hand before work can begin. It is due near the end of the year, according to Kendall.
Once we get that back well have an idea of what the costs are going to be and what our options are as how to do that flyover, Kendall said. The city has banked fees from developers and feels it can pay for the bridge without new fees. We feel that we do, because we need to do that in order to make these stores successful.