Amherst Planning Board approves changes to Costco project

AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — A progress report on the Costco coming to Ridge Lea Road, in Amherst, was presented Tuesday evening.

The wholesale warehouse store was announced back in 2022. Work began on the site last spring but little progress has been made since.

This is what brought 7 News' Pheben Kassahun to the Amherst Planning Board meeting.

Kassahun learned the board approved two main modifications for the project.

It was presented by the engineering director of Benderson Development, Matthew Oates.

"One is the Dick's House of Sports is now a two-story building and 119,115 square feet versus what was previously approved as a single-story 120,000 square foot building. So, it's the same square footage. It is just over two stories now," Oates explained.

The second was switching the parking lot and gas station spots for Costco.

"Second is the fuel facility that was previously approved up along the road, is now tucked to the back of the site, to the side of Costco, instead. Visible from the 290 but set away from the road the main access points and then this area is now a parking field," Oates added.

After his presentation, Oates shared with Kassahun, that the reason for the changes is to improve traffic flow in an already busy area.

This will be the first Costco in Western New York.

The closest stores are in either Rochester or Niagara Falls, Ontario.

The popular warehouse chain is similar to Sam's Club or BJ's, allowing members to buy items in bulk.

No word yet on how many jobs this will bring to Amherst.

Membership fees are about $10 more than Sam's Club, and according to Business Insider, the average shopper spends about $100 per trip, at Costco.