Remember the proposed Costco that was set to open in Green Valley Ranch on GVR Boulevard between Memphis Street and Peña Boulevard?
Well, it's finally opening.
The wholesale retail store will open July 19 at 4741 Airport Way, and it's been a long time coming.
"This has definitely been a labor of love way back from 2015," said Councilmember Stacie Gilmore. "I'm full of gratitude and excitement about it because we were able to continue to keep this project on track, even amidst the last three years of uncertainty. I think that really goes towards the community and how important this is to them and their continual pushing to make sure that it was happening."
When Gilmore was elected in 2015 to represent District 11, one of the first things she did was take developers around her district to point out open spaces for potential retail projects and housing. Gilmore said the goal was to show people that the far northeast wasn't far and that additional retail would boost the area's economy.
The goal was also to entice a grocer to the area, which had become a food desert.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an area is considered a food desert when at least 500 people, or 33% of the area population, lives more than one mile away from a supermarket or large grocery store.
Montbello and Green Valley Ranch haven't always been food deserts. At one point, Montbello was home to a Safeway and an Albertsons, but by 2014, both grocers had closed. The food options became scarce and residents either had to travel to Aurora, a loss of dollars for Denver, or get groceries from Family Dollar or 7-Eleven, which provide limited, sometimes unhealthy selections.
But as Denver has experienced in many neighborhoods, bringing a grocer to an area isn't simple or systemically fair.
"I think that it's so important to make sure that you're explaining to folks, especially how historically grocers have operated in neighborhoods, and many times a grocer will wait until a neighborhood is fully built out before they will make the commitment to come in," Gilmore said. "It seems very counterintuitive from a food access standpoint, less so when you're looking at it from a bottom line earnings standpoint."
In recent years, there's been an uptick in community growth in the far northeast and grocers have been opening up shop in the area.
In 2020, a Natural Grocers opened at Green Valley Ranch Boulevard and Tower Road. A Sprouts also opened along the Tower Road corridor and a Save-A-Lot opened on Chambers Road.
There's also the community-led Montbello FreshLo Hub, a mixed-used development on East Albrook Drive that will house a community grocery store and affordable housing.
"This is really an opportunity for us to help close some of those historic gaps that we especially have dealing with institutionalized racism and a lack of allocation of resources to communities of color," Gilmore said. "It's really making sure that we're being responsive to all parts of our neighborhood and having a wide range of options for people around food access."
Costco will sit in the Flyaway development, a proposed 223,000 square-foot retail town center. Besides the retail space, the project would bring a town center and approximately 500-600 new jobs. Costco specifically will be hiring about 230 people.
The Department of Economic Development is hosting a Costco hiring event on Wednesday, June 28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the soon-to-open Costco (4741 Airport Way).
Starting pay for some of the positions range from $17.29 to $23 per hour, according to Gilmore's office.
Gilmore said having Costco in the area is one step toward closing the food insecurity gap. Costco does require a membership, which may not be ideal for low-income families. Gilmore said she and the grocer have been discussing some type of financial assistance but nothing is set in stone. She added that although there's a membership fee, it may balance out considering the gas discounts and all of the items Costco sells such as furniture and clothes.
