Newmarket's current Costco Wholesale is poised to become a business centre once a new Costco arrives at Highway 404 and Davis Drive.
Two sources who work at the Costco at 18182 Yonge St., on the border of Newmarket in East Gwillimbury, confirmed the plans to convert the current store in a few years to a Costco specializing in small business supplies. Shoppers looking for the current array of goods will instead have to visit the new Costco in development farther south.
Yonge Street Costco shoppers had a mixed reaction to the future change. Aurora resident Catherine Marshall said she thinks it will add to her shopping commute and is opposed to it.
“That’s not my usual shopping area around the 404, and I’m getting a little ticked that all of the major stores are moving east,” Marshall said. “I’m not happy about that.”
Costco’s corporate office did not respond to a request for a comment before publication.
The Costco Business Centre is a newer style of store also available to members, with more than 15 in the United States and several opening in Canada in 2021. Offering more than 70 per cent of a unique inventory compared to a typical Costco, the business centre skews toward supplying small businesses, with wider snack selections and appliances but lacking things like clothing or food courts.
Meanwhile, plans were revealed last fall for a Costco to become a tenant at a new retail complex under construction at 1250 Davis Dr. and 1240 Twinney Dr., including a gas bar. The retail complex, which would have other stores, is slated to have approximately 1,356 parking spaces, with the new Costco building at more than 160,000 square feet.
Costco has yet to formally announce the new store revealed in publicly available planning documents; it has a media policy stating it does not comment on stores more than three months before opening. The timeline for the new store and the conversion has also not been released.
Adora Valdez lives in Keswick and said it would not make much of a difference for her, as she will visit Costco on her way back from trips farther south to Toronto.
“I just go wherever the business is, wherever I need to buy my needs,” she said. “It’s not really a big change for me.”
Shaun Fletcher said he lives in the outskirts of Newmarket, and the new location off Davis Drive would be more convenient for him. He spoke positively about the prospect of still having two Costco stores serving the community.
"Hopefully, the new Costco will have a larger parking lot that’s a little more accessible," Fletcher said. "I think it’s a positive thing though, because more jobs, and hopefully, the new Costco is even bigger.”
NewmarketToday will provide updates on the two Costcos as they are made available.
