Wheaton Closer to Getting Costco in 2012

• May 17th 2011

by UrbanTurf Staff

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In January 2010, it was reported that the Montgomery County Council was trying to bring Costco, the store-where-you-can-get-massive-quantities-of-everything, to Wheaton. To sweeten the deal, the Council announced it was willing to offer a $4 million subsidy to help the Westfield-Wheaton shopping mall, where the new store would be located, pay for the $50 million project.

On Monday, the Council defeated a proposal that would have prevented this subsidy from funding the mall, The Washington Post reports, which means that Wheaton residents will likely have access to a place where they can buy paper towels at bulk rates by 2012.

The decision to approve the funds, which will be provided to developer Westfield in $2 million increments in 2011 and 2012, did not come without opposition, as the county faces a $300 million budget deficit over the next fiscal year.

From The Post:

Council members opposed to the subsidy said the county might have put its pride ahead of its people. “The idea of giving $2 million of our scarce dollars to Westfield is a mistake,” said Marc Elrich, who led the opposition to the subsidy. “We can take this $2 million and put it to better use in our community.”

At the moment, the only close-in Costco store is in Pentagon City.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/wheaton_closer_to_getting_costco_in_2012/3507.