(Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include the fact that Costco had a Worcester location in the early 1990s.)
The mayor of Leominster is hopeful that negotiations between the owner of the Mall at Whitney Field and Costco Wholesale Club will be fruitful and bring the retail giant to his city.
"We're hopeful and doing everything on our end to assist," said Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella. He said the negotiations between the retail property group that owns the mall, Hull Property Group, based in Augusta, Georgia, and the parent company of Costco Wholesale Club, based in Seattle, are ongoing. "They have to do their due diligence before a final deal."
It would be Costco's only location in Central Massachusetts. It has six in the eastern part of the state and one in West Springfield.
Costco opened a store on Gold Star Boulevard in Worcester in December 1992, but the location closed less than a year later, according to the Telegram & Gazette archives.
The T&G reached out to Costco and Hull Property Group, but inquiries were not immediately responded to.
Mazzarella is confident that the retailer, with its "own vibe, pricing and quality," and its "aggressive warrantees" and "hot dogs," is a mixture that will bring people to the mall to shop in person.
"We can be part of that formula," Mazzarella said, adding that the addition of the wholesale club would benefit other retailers at the mall and throughout the city.
"We are very creative," Mazzarella said. "One of the things we have been very successful at is connecting the downtown to the mall. We call it the triangle."
The city has always discussed redevelopment of shopping centers and malls with retail developers. This is especially important now as consumers spend more time and money shopping online, Mazzarella said.
The Mall at Whitney Field was constructed in 1967.
According to published reports, vacancies left by the shuttering of the Sears retail store, Macy’s and Filene’s Basement would be redeveloped to accommodate the retail giant. Current tenants, including JC Penny and Burlington, would remain in a modified structure. The developer would also construct a gasoline service station on the property.
The Hull Property Group purchased the mall in 2019 according to its website; it is the only outlet the company owns in Massachusetts.
Mazzarella called the mall the "most valuable property" in Leominster, given its location and its proximity to all the major roadways that serve the region.
"It borders every major highway, front and back," Mazzarella said.
Mazzarella said the retail giant would generate needed tax dollars at a time when municipalities are facing funding cuts as well as increased costs.
"Costs have gone up: trash, transporting kids, health insurance. Prices increased during COVID-19 and they haven't come back down," Mazzarella said.