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Costco is preparing to add its 21st membership warehouse club in New Jersey.

After gaining unanimous approval during the Paramus Planning Board’s Oct. 2 meeting, the popular wholesale giant plans to demolish shuttered Kmart and Stop & Shop locations on Route 17 South to make way for a 184,000-square-foot store, NorthJersey.com reported.

In a social media post welcoming the news, Paramus Mayor Chris DiPiazza wrote, “Costco is a premier retailer in the United States, and they are choosing to call Paramus home. They are filling an abandoned property – a vacant lot – and putting in a need.”

“We can’t ask for much more than that. 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,” he said.

According to NorthJersey.com, no time frame was discussed during last week’s planning board for construction. A spokesperson for Costco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The retailer also notes that it “cannot comment on locations that will be opening more than three months from today,” according to its website.

Expanding the commercial corridor

The approval comes more than a year after DiPiazza announced Costco’s plans to transform the property. It formerly housed a Kmart store that closed in 2014 and a Stop & Shop supermarket that went dark in 2022.

Home to four shopping malls and busy retail corridors Routes 4 and 17, Paramus is undoubtedly the shopping capital of North Jersey. Costco rival BJ’s Wholesale Club has a presence in the borough, too.

DiPiazza has said he believes Costco’s arrival is an “improvement” that “strengthens our commercial corridor, increases ratables and continues to make Paramus the heart of Bergen County.”

The upcoming Paramus opening comes as the Washington State-based chain continues to expand across the U.S. and internationally. Overall, Costco expects to add 35 new warehouses to reach 900-plus locations by August 2026.