Neighbors pack public meeting over Midtown Costco’s planned conversion to business center

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Residents packed a public meeting Tuesday night to confront Costco officials over plans to convert the Midtown Kansas City warehouse at Linwood and Gillham into a business center — and the message was clear: they feel abandoned.

The meeting, held at the Westport branch of the Kansas City Public Library, was required by city rules before Costco can take its rezoning request to the Kansas City Plan Commission on July 15. The library room holds 60 people by fire code. Costco filled it twice, with more residents waiting outside.

“You’re taking something away from us that makes it really difficult for us to stay loyal Costco shoppers, because 15 miles away just to get to a Costco is just not going to work,” said Patricia Macdonald, a concerned resident, to applause from the crowd.

What will change

Costco formally filed plans with the city in May to convert the 25-year-old warehouse into a business center focused on serving restaurants and small businesses, while remaining open to all Costco members.

According to those plans and statements made at Tuesday’s meeting, the following will go away:

• Pharmacy
• Food court
• Optical center
• Hearing aid center
• Tire shop
• Apparel and electronics

The gas station will remain, and the location will continue to sell food items including produce, packaged meats, dairy, eggs and frozen meals. Hours would shift to 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Steve Cross, Costco’s Director of Real Estate, acknowledged the losses directly.

“It’s unfortunate that some of these items that you currently have access to — they’re just not going to be here at this location,” Cross said.

The rezoning request

Costco representatives told the audience the rezoning request is specifically to allow the construction of a fenced outdoor area to stage a fleet of Costco box trucks used to deliver goods to business customers — a key component of the business center model. The conversion itself, they said, does not require city approval.

The nearest full-service grocery stores to the Linwood location are just under two miles away — a Sunfresh at Mill Street and Southwest Trafficway, about 1.9 miles to the south, and United Market KC at 31st Street and Prospect Avenue, about 1.7 miles to the northeast by road. The Sunfresh also has a pharmacy. The nearest standalone pharmacies are a CVS at 39th and Main, about a mile away, and a Walgreens at 39th and Broadway, about 1.3 miles away. However, none of those options offer the same pricing as Costco’s pharmacy, which is known for significantly lower costs on generic medications.

Jobs

Representatives told the audience Tuesday night that the business center would employ approximately 90 workers — compared to roughly 250 at a typical Costco warehouse. Those whose positions are eliminated will be offered jobs elsewhere in the company, they said, though no specifics were provided.

“Take 250 employees and reduce it to 90 — that looks like you’re being greedy,” one audience member said.

“After 30 years of free taxes,” another added.

The public subsidy question

Opponents of the conversion have pointed to decades of tax incentives Costco received in the mid-1990s to locate the store in Midtown — a neighborhood that at the time had few retail options. That incentive period has since ended.

Several residents at Tuesday’s meeting pressed Costco representatives on why the company chose to convert this urban location rather than a suburban store near highways — or open a new business center location altogether.

Steven Chamberlain, Costco Business Centers Regional Operations Manager, said those decisions were made above his level and directed residents to contact Costco’s executive leadership.

“So who would we ask?” an audience member pressed.

“You can speak to anybody at the executive level,” Chamberlain replied.

“No, we can’t,” an audience member shot back.

What the city can do

All but one Kansas City City Council member has signed a letter to Costco’s executive leadership opposing the conversion and urging the company to maintain groceries, pharmacy services and jobs at the Linwood location. Councilman Nathan Willett of the First District was the only member not to sign.

The representatives leading Tuesday’s meeting declined an on-camera interview with KCTV5. When asked what Costco would do if the city rejected the rezoning application, Costco representatives told KCTV5 they would “cross that bridge” when they get there.

What’s next

The Kansas City Plan Commission will take up Costco’s rezoning request on Wednesday, July 15. Members of the public can submit written testimony in advance by emailing publicengagement@kcmo.org.