Deal reached at Ontario Municipal Board for new Waterloo Costco

The City of Waterloo, the region and the developer of a Costco outlet in Waterloo's west end have reached a settlement with the Ontario Municipal Board as to how construction will proceed, avoiding a potentially lengthy delay to the project.

The Costco is slated to be built on 924 and 930 Erb Street West, just past Ira Needles Boulevard. The involved parties have agreed that two 2-lane roundabouts will be built on Erb Street West - one at each of two access gates at the regional waste facility on the road - along with "related improvements" to relieve traffic pressures, according to the agreement.

The agreement also states that the improvements are contingent on approval by regional council and a "satisfactory cost-sharing agreement" between the city and the region.

The developer, Rice Commercial Group, had previously appealed to the OMB, an arms-length judicial body that acts as an adjudicator in disputes over planning in the province.

The developer was worried that the project could be jeopardized by a lengthy delay due to a requirement decided by city council that traffic studies and roadwork be done before the store is built. The new agreement means that traffic studies are no longer needed.

The city will also put a hold on developing other retail outlets in the area until a later time. 

Unclear when construction will start

Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky said the Costco store and its gas bar will likely be built while the roundabouts are being constructed. However, they cannot officially open until the two roundabouts are finished. Jaworsky said there should also be some road widening work to go along with the roundabouts.

According to the region, it's unlikely roundabout construction will happen this year, which means the Costco can't open until 2016. 

"It is most likely that construction would start next spring. Now there are still obviously discussions that would have to happen with Costco, but most likely it would be next spring,' said Thomas Schmidt, the region's transportation commissioner. 

Schmidt said that the roundabout construction, if it was started next spring, would likely be finished by fall, though some of the polishing touches like landscaping could take a little longer.

Overall, Jaworsky said he's pleased the store will be coming to the city.

"They're going to bring well over a hundred great paying jobs to our community," said Jaworsky. "Also from what I understand about 30 per cent of west side Waterloo residents are already Costco members, so they're currently taking the car and driving all the way down to Kitchener."