Ellie Kinnaird drops plans for Carrboro Costco

N.C. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird said she is giving up on bringing a Costco to Carrboro.

Kinnaird pushed for a Costco in the area because she thought its addition to the tax base would benefit the town.

“It’s very well suited to the county,” Kinnaird said. She said bringing a big-box store like Costco would have created jobs for low-income community members.

But Kinnaird said her idea was informally rejected by the Carrboro Board of Aldermen.

Some community members said a Costco would hurt the small businesses in the area and would be environmentally irresponsible to build, because there’s no clear space for one.

“I’m giving up,” Kinnaird said. “It’s a lost cause.”

Alderman Jacquie Gist said bringing in a big-box store at the expense of smaller businesses would hurt the local economy.

“They only have loyalty to themselves,” she said.

Gist said the town has not been approached by Costco to build a store.

Paul Moulton, executive vice president of real estate for Costco, said the company does not disclose its real estate strategies to the public.

Kinnaird said she thought that the company could have been successfully solicited. She also said the extra commercial and property tax revenue would fix what she said is a habitual problem of depending too much on residential property taxes.

Bernadette Pelissier, vice chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, confirmed that both the county and Carrboro would get a portion of real estate taxes from a store like Costco.

Pelissier also said the county needs to diversify its tax base and is heavily dependent on property taxes.

She also said more than half of the purchases county residents make are at places like The Streets at Southpoint in Durham, outside the county.

“We would like to see people spend more money in Orange County,” Pelissier said.

But Jason Baker, the owner services and events coordinator for Weaver Street Market, said big-box stores leave large carbon footprints and smaller businesses are more environmentally friendly.

“We don’t need to tempt people with bad choices,” he said.

Baker said that money that comes from local businesses is better for the community as a whole.

He also said there isn’t a good place for a store like Costco in the area, which means building one would have a negative impact on the environment.

Gist said bringing a store like Costco would be a long process and could end up taking the better part of a year, depending on the committee to which the application is presented.

She also said that although Carrboro doesn’t have as many big-box stores as other areas, the town is still doing better financially than many places that depend on them.

“Big corporations are a part of the reason the economy is the way it is,” Gist said.

Kinnaird said she agreed with some of the obstacles a big-box store would present, which is one of the reasons she ultimately decided to stop pursuing the idea.

“If they don’t want it, they don’t want it.”



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