The Brilliance of Costco’s New Plan to Build Apartments on Top of Their Stores

There is a housing shortage in many cities. And there’s a Costco in those cities. In an ambitious new project, the brand is working with LA-based developers Thrive Living to build a new 800-unit apartment complex in Baldwin Village, South Los Angeles, with a new Costco store occupying the ground floor. Nearly 25% of the apartments will be offered as low-income housing. I love the non-obvious thinking behind this idea. You have a store that is already occupying real estate. They provide many home goods people need. If you build an apartment on top of it, you can use the space more effectively and also import a whole new bunch of hyper-local customers who are likely to spend frequently at your store.

It is certainly a complex operation and the estimated costs for this first one is upwards of $450 million dollars, but the potential financial upside and value to the community could be far greater. While the project is currently estimated for completion by 2027, given the devastation in LA this week—perhaps they might accelerate their timeline and consider doing a few more of these projects elsewhere too.