SAVE THE DATE | Costco set to open new Lawrence location ‘in time for Thanksgiving’ 2026

KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.

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Costco announced Tuesday it will open doors in Lawrence, Kansas, "just in time for Thanksgiving" in the fall of 2026, according to a press release from LANE4 Property Group.

Construction is currently underway for the 166,000 square foot wholesale store that will stand alongside other businesses in The Mercato, a new 90-acre mixed-use development project in west Lawrence, per the release.

RELATED | Development west of K-10? Potential Costco would spur development in west Lawrence, mayor says

Located within The Mercato at the northeast corner of 6th Street and Kansas Highway 10, the warehouse will offer an on-site gas station with 24 pumps, a tire center, bakery, produce and floral, as KSHB 41 News previously reported.

RELATED | Lawrence residents expect additional growth if Costco plan becomes official

“We’re thrilled to help bring Costo to Lawrence and see this as a major destination anchor that draws shoppers from across Douglas County and Lawrence’s surrounding communities,” Becca Koester, representative of K-10/40 Development, L.C., said in the press release. “The Lawrence store will be Costco’s most western store in Kansas along the I-70 corridor.”

The new location will be the fifth in the Kansas City area, per the release. Although the future operations of one of those sites, located in Kansas City, Missouri's Midtown neighborhood, remains in question.

Courtesy: LANE4 Property Group

Lawrence Mayor Brad Finkeldei said the phone was "ringing off the hook" to fill lots surrounding what was only a proposed Costco site during a city commission meeting on Dec. 2.

Braum's Ice Cream & Dairy Store and Truity Credit Union have recently purchased parcels of land within The Mercato, according to a press release from the property group that represented K-10/40 Development, L.C. in the transaction.

"The two largest single-drivers of sales tax in this community in the past 50 years are going to come online in 2026: the new convention center and Costco," Finkeldei said at the Dec. 2 meeting.

The city of Lawrence anticipates Costco's impact will stretch west of K-10.

Large infrastructure projects to extend water, sewer, and roads, along with a water tower west of K-10, are expected to spur residential and commercial development in a more underdeveloped part of town, according to Finkeldei.

The Mercato land can accommodate other retail, restaurant, service-oriented businesses, and multi-family developments, per the release.

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