MEGA-Retailer Confirmed! Costco is Officially Coming to Route 17 Paramus

Planning Board Greenlights New Costco Store Despite Traffic Worries

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paramus NJ, it’s official: Costco is coming to Paramus, New Jersey! After an eight-month-long review process, the borough’s Planning Board unanimously approved the application for the discount warehouse giant on Thursday night, October 2nd.

The new, 184,000-square-foot facility will be built on a prime piece of real estate at 859 Route 17 South. The development will revitalize a major commercial lot, replacing the site of a former Stop & Shop supermarket, an adjacent Kmart, and a strip mall—all of which have been vacant for years. The existing, sprawling structures will be demolished to make way for the new, concentrated Costco building.

This will mark Costco’s 21st retail location in New Jersey, adding to its North Jersey presence in Teterboro, Wayne, Clifton, and East Hanover.

Paramus Mayor: A ‘Good Day’ for Taxpayers

Paramus Mayor Chris DiPiazza, who also sits on the Planning Board and voted in favor of the project, celebrated the decision.

“Costco is a premiere retailer in the United States, and they are choosing to call Paramus home,” Mayor DiPiazza stated in a Facebook post. He emphasized the economic benefits and the benefit of cleaning up the blight, noting, “They are filling an abandoned property… They’re keeping our commercial corridor vibrant, which helps the taxpayers, and they’re doing so with a plan to protect residents that are their neighbors as well.”

The project’s planner, Matt Flynn, supported this view, pointing out that concentrating retail operations into one structure moves the building mass away from many residents compared to the current, sprawling configuration.

Resident Concerns Over Route 17 Traffic

The road to approval wasn’t without bumps, primarily focused on traffic impact. During the final hearing, residents from nearby streets like Wynetta Place and Linwood Avenue voiced significant concerns about increased congestion on the already busy Route 17.

Costco’s traffic expert, Nicholas Verderese, estimated that the store could generate about 900 car trips during peak hours, an increase of roughly 100 trips per hour compared to when Stop & Shop was operating. Verderese called this a “conservative” estimate, noting the Paramus store will not have a gas station, a feature at other locations that typically adds to traffic volume.

Despite the data, resident Steve Wolf of Kramer Drive expressed his fear that traffic would be worse than predicted, citing a noticeable increase in congestion on Route 17 southbound in recent months.

To address resident concerns, Costco previously agreed to enhance the property’s perimeter by adding an 8-foot-tall fence on top of the slope and planting new trees to create a separation buffer from nearby residential neighborhoods.

With the approval secured, the focus now shifts to the next phase, though no timeframe for construction was discussed at the October 2nd meeting.

 

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