Dear Mr. Know-It-All:
A couple of years ago, there was word going around that Costco was coming to Farmington. It was going to be built at the 30th and Main Street where Halliburton was located. And that Hobby Lobby was going to move to Animas Valley Mall where Sears used to be.
Was this ever going to happen to begin with?
Signed,
Waiting Game
Dear Waiting,
Thanks for the question, and the quick answer is no, and yes! But let Mr. Know-It-All provide some more details (since they pay me by the word).
I reached out to the Dean of Real Estate Agents in Farmington, and a man who shows his love for this area in every social media post he makes, Barry Digman, associate broker with Keller Williams. In fact, Barry has been helping people buy and sell properties in Farmington and San Juan County for 25 years. That’s a lot of escrow.
Barry tells me that a very reliable contractor friend of his confirms that Hobby Lobby plans to move to the Animas Valley Mall. Mr. Know-It-All expects that Hobby Lobby will have a special lease agreement with the mall to allow them to operate their store only six days a week, even though the mall is open seven days.
Your question about Costco is a different story and made Mr. Know-It-All think about the larger issue of these big, national companies deciding to locate in our fine town.
I heard the same rumors that you did about the property at 30th and Main Street, but I always figured it would be too small for a Costco. Turns out, I was right. Back to Barry Digman: He says many of these big deals are kept very hush-hush for a lot of reasons. One of which is to keep the people who are selling their property from increasing the price. Can you imagine if you were trying to sell your land, and you were negotiating with a Walmart or Costco? It might be hard to see those acceptance papers if you have dollar signs in your eyes. So these deals usually go through a third party for both sides. Digman said many commercial properties are listed by out-of-town brokers, since they have connections with potential large, national buyers and often hold a CCIM designation, which, Mr. Know-It-All learned, means Certified Commercial Investment Member. Digman says no real estate brokers in San Juan County hold that designation.
So, Halliburton made the deal and sold to the developer, which paved the way for the Maverik gas station/convenience store. By the way, more dirt is being moved on that property, which means someone else will be built there, but guess what, so far, it’s a secret as to what it might be. However, Mr. Know-It-All feels very confident in saying it won’t be a Costco.
So what about those persistent Costco rumors? Mr. Know-It-All did some research and found one commercial real estate agency in California that listed site requirements for a Costco to open in a community. Gallelli Real Estate says Costco requires a population of 200,000 people who live within 5 miles of the proposed location. Take a look around you right now, and chances are you don’t even see 20 people, but I bet you have plenty of elbow room. Costco also requires a median income of $75,000 a year (or more), and unfortunately, our area doesn’t meet that measurement, either. Barry Digman says those market requirements for Costco are correct.
The store also needs 14 to 16 acres for enough room for their 160,000-square-foot building and 750 parking spaces. By the way, the old Halliburton property at Main and 30th streets is only about 10 acres.
However, Mr. Know-It-All has learned never to say never – especially because Farmington and San Juan County make up a unique retail market. We enjoy many shopping benefits of a much larger community. How many cities of 46,000 people have, not one, but two Walmart supercenters? We do, because of the uniqueness of the Farmington market, which is a retail shopping hub for a much larger, regional population of 200,000+ people. That may be why we have a Sam’s Club – and why, if the folks at Costco ever realize this and run the numbers, we might see more dirt moving yet.
Mr. Know-It-All is Scott Michlin, the general manager of KSJE 90.9FM community-supported radio at San Juan College. If you have a question about something in San Juan County, drop him a line at SMichlin@tricityrecordnm.com. If he doesn’t know the answer, he knows someone who does and you’ll read about it here in the pages of the Tri-City Record!.
