Cape Coral City Council approved a $10 million incentive agreement for the city’s first Costco, planned for 600 Chiquita Boulevard South. The project calls for an approximately 165,000-square-foot warehouse with a gas station; road changes and the effect on nearby traffic remain issues for residents and officials.
The vote, reported Monday by WINK News, approves a package that includes up to $8 million through an enhanced property value recapture grant, up to $1.8 million in impact-fee reimbursement, and deferral of up to $200,000 in utility impact fees. City records show the impact-fee reimbursement is anticipated after a certificate of occupancy in fiscal year 2028, while the recapture grant could run through a 25-year performance period, with estimated payments beginning in fiscal year 2029 or 2030, according to the station’s earlier report.
The site is at Pine Island Road and Chiquita Boulevard. Costco is expected to add turn lanes and a traffic signal on Chiquita Boulevard South during construction, WINK News reported. WGCU described the planned site at 600 Chiquita Boulevard South as an approximately 165,000-square-foot warehouse with a fueling facility.
Residents weigh convenience against traffic
John Benedict told WINK News he was concerned about more traffic on Pine Island Road, while also saying a Costco about two miles away would be preferable to the roughly 20-mile drive to an existing store.
Ann Frakes, who lives in St. James City, said she was willing to accept additional congestion in exchange for a shorter drive, preferring some local traffic to driving to Fort Myers. For some Cape Coral residents, the new location would mean a shorter trip to Costco, WINK News reported.
Pine Island Road work is a separate question
WINK News reported that city officials would evaluate traffic impacts before construction and could add turn lanes or signals along Pine Island Road if needed. Widening Pine Island Road has not been confirmed. Separately, the Florida Department of Transportation has proposed safety and access improvements on a stretch of Pine Island Road, also known as SR 78, from east of Del Prado Boulevard to Hibiscus Drive.
How the state road project differs
The FDOT project is separate from Costco’s planned Chiquita Boulevard access work. It proposes a median closure at the Lowe’s entrance on SR 78, a second eastbound left-turn lane at Pondella Road, traffic channelization islands at Del Prado Boulevard, and a directional median island at Hibiscus Drive, according to FDOT. The agency’s April 2025 project boards listed construction from Q3 2026 through Q3 2027 and cautioned that the schedule could change, according to FDOT’s project schedule.
For broader corridor context—not a forecast of Costco’s traffic effects—the City of Cape Coral says its SR 78/Pine Island Road vision plan covers 9.2 miles from Burnt Store Road to U.S. 41/Cleveland Avenue and is intended to guide transportation and land-use decisions over the next 50 years.
Costco's opening date remains unknown. As of an Oct. 27 report from WGCU, the store's opening had not been announced and would depend on Costco's construction timeline — and construction and opening dates still have not been announced since.
Jobs and a Third Lee County Location
Costco has projected roughly 150 to 175 community jobs tied to the new store, with an average wage of $27.85, according to WINK News's earlier report on the deal. The Chiquita Boulevard site would mark Costco's third location in Lee County, joining existing outlets at Gulf Coast Town Center and at U.S. 41 and Cypress Lake Drive, per WGCU.
Cape Coral has considered large incentive packages for other developments. A resolution scheduled for council consideration on Aug. 20, 2025, for the Cape Coral Grove development proposed an Enhanced Property Recapture Grant capped at $86,437,702 cumulatively and an impact-fee incentive credit against the first $10 million in impact fees and connection charges, according to the Cape Coral Breeze. That was a proposal, not an approved grant. The Costco package is smaller and uses a similar mix of property-value recapture and fee incentives.
