Ridgefield city staff say the new Costco is the first step in transforming Ridgefield into a major employment hub in the north Clark County region.
The Costco site is set to open in the newly built Union Ridge Town Center, just west of Ridgefield’s Interstate 5 overpass, in late August. Mayor Ron Onslow expects the new store to boost the city’s economic vitality by bringing locals from the surrounding area to Ridgefield. He noted that this supermarket is convenient for Ridgefield residents to contribute their tax dollars to the city in which they live.
“Everybody in the city is going to benefit from the tax dollars that we receive, not only from our residents but from those that come from outside the city limits,” Onslow said.
Ridgefield Finance Director Kirk Johnson expects the new site to substantially boost the city’s annual general fund, as the new site will attract shoppers from as far as Cowlitz County. He explained that the city expects to generate an average of $700,000 in sales tax revenue annually. Though numbers vary depending on the location, Costco supermarkets typically supply around 320 jobs.
Johnson explained, however, that Costco is the catalyst for a much larger project in Ridgefield. The Union Ridge Town Center, where the new site is located, will feature 13 business pads to be leased later. Additionally, Ridgefield is using recently approved legislation to fund infrastructure projects supporting future business developments surrounding the city’s overpass.
Ridgefield’s 2023-approved Tax Increment Financing (TIF) area, which spans 942 acres surrounding the overpass, supports the road improvements necessary for Costco and future locations including In-n-Out Burger and a YMCA. Authorized by the Washington state Legislature and signed into law in 2021, the TIF area directs property taxes from new developments to fund infrastructure projects. This will fund roughly $98 million in infrastructure improvements by the end of 2029. Johnson expects the new sites supported by the TIF area to generate $3.4 million annually for the city once all developments are completed. Johnson said TIF area sites to be built, including the In-N-Out Burger, will turn the area into a regional job zone.
“So the infrastructure [supports] the private development that would not be able to come to Ridgefield without the ability for us to build that infrastructure,” Johnson said. “Otherwise, we just don’t have the capacity to support all the traffic that’s coming in.”
To support traffic expected from the new Costco, the city is set to complete the construction of Pioneer Canyon Drive and a new roundabout
bordering Union Ridge Town Center soon. Johnson said the bond to pay for this project, supported by the TIF area, cost $30 million, including the ongoing project to widen state Route 503, now maintained by the city, to two lanes on both sides. The widened Pioneer Street and additional traffic mitigations will alleviate the oncoming traffic into Ridgefield expected from new developments, including the in-progress In-N-Out Burger and YMCA sites near Pioneer Canyon Drive. Onslow said he looks forward to seeing new visitors come to Ridgefield.
“We’ll [soon] be able to finish Pioneer Road, and I think [development] will benefit the wildlife refuge, the downtown area [and] everybody that surrounds them,” Onslow said. “We’re looking forward to not only a good employer but good tax dollars that will stay in our city.”
Ridgefield’s Costco will open at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29, on the corner of the new Pioneer Canyon Drive and North 56th Place. Onslow will attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for an opening celebration.
