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Friday, December 23, 2011

Costco evaluating ground in Idaho Falls, Ammon

This might not be the big announcement everyone is waiting for, but Costoco Wholesale, the international chain of membership warehouses, is evaluating locations in Idaho Falls and Ammon.

"At this point it's a feasibility study, but there's a good chance it will happen," said Brent Wilson of Pentad Properties, who is showing Costco possible locations. The company typically hires someone local who has an understanding of traffic patterns, local trends and zoning regulations.

Any incentive that a community can offer is taken into account. "It's not front page news, but it's not a big secret," Wilson said. "They want people to know."

Wilson is also involved with finding a new tenant for the T.G.I. Friday's building on Hitt Road. And no, it won't be Red Lobster. "There was interest, but Red Lobster's prototype is 7,700 square feet and that building is 5,234 square feet," he said.

Right now, Darden Restaurants, Red Lobster's parent company, is more interested in the Far East than it is in small town America, but something could happen in the Idaho Falls-Ammon area. "They are looking," he said.