For Western North Carolina residents who have been hoping for a Costco closer to home, the project is moving forward again—but it is important to emphasize that it is still a proposal, not an approved development.
Costco has submitted revised plans for a new warehouse in Asheville’s Enka area, and the project is now approaching two important steps in the city’s review process.
What’s Proposed
The current proposal covers nearly 40 acres at 264 and 274 Enka Heritage Parkway and 1455 Sand Hill Road, near the Enka Clock Tower and Smokey Park Highway. According to the latest plans, the project includes a roughly 168,000-square-foot Costco, 914 surface parking spaces, retail and automotive services, and a fuel station.
City planning staff is recommending approval of the conditional rezoning request, although Costco is seeking several modifications to Asheville development standards, including requirements involving parking, tree canopy, bicycle parking, and building design.
What Happens Next?
The next major date is October 7, when Asheville’s Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to consider the conditional rezoning request.
After that, the proposal is expected to go before Asheville City Council on October 13.
Those reviews matter. Until the required approvals are secured and the project proceeds into development, an Asheville Costco should be viewed as a promising possibility—not a done deal.
What Could a Costco Mean for Asheville and WNC?
Beyond the convenience of having a Costco closer to home, a project of this scale can be another meaningful addition to the growing network of amenities available across Asheville and Western North Carolina.
For residents, that can mean more shopping choices, easier access to everyday goods and services, new employment opportunities, and less need to travel outside the region for amenities they value. More broadly, continued commercial investment can reflect confidence in an area and contribute to the mix of services and conveniences that make a community an attractive place to live, work, and invest.
There’s a real-estate connection here, too. Buyers don’t evaluate a home in isolation—they also consider the community around it. Access to shopping, dining, recreation, healthcare, employment, and other everyday conveniences can all help shape how desirable a location feels.
Research highlighted by The Close found that the real-estate effect of a new Costco varies by market, with stronger home-price performance observed near new locations in some denser and higher-income areas. The more useful takeaway isn’t that one retailer determines property values, but that access to desirable amenities can be part of what makes an area appealing to buyers.
For Asheville and the broader Western North Carolina region, the proposed Costco represents something larger than a new place to shop. It is another example of continued investment in a region that is evolving to serve the people who already call it home while welcoming new residents, businesses, and opportunities.
At Varga Mountain Collective, we love keeping up with the changes shaping Western North Carolina. Have questions about how new development could impact an area you’re considering? Reach out to our team. We’d love to chat.
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