Chesapeake approves Costco for Greenbrier Mall site, paving way for construction

Chesapeake cleared the biggest hurdle for a Costco at Greenbrier Mall, turning a long-running site plan into a construction project that will eventually require demolition, site prep and a hiring push. The City Council unanimously approved the conditional use permit on June 16 for the fuel station and motor vehicle services center tied to the store, a move that shifts the project from zoning debate to the physical work that comes next.

The permit covers the site at 1401 Greenbrier Parkway and part of 1712 Ring Road, with 1401 Greenbrier Parkway, LLC listed as the applicant and owner. City materials say the existing Sears building must come down and the lot must be regraded to create a flatter site, while a retaining wall will be moved farther south. The proposal also includes a tire repair center inside the warehouse, plus fuel pumps and a canopy on the northeast side of the building.

That operational footprint matters for workers long before the doors open. The Virginian-Pilot reported that the project anticipates 200 employees at opening and about 7,000 daily customers, with roughly 10% of shoppers expected to use the gas station and auto service center. For Costco managers, that kind of volume means decisions about staffing, training, parking flow, fuel-lane traffic and how quickly the opening team can move from construction dust to daily routines on the floor.

The planning commission had already recommended approval with stipulations on May 13, and the city’s staff report said the site sits in the Greenbrier PUD, Urban Overlay District, tax increment financing district and Greenbrier Area Plan study area. City staff also acknowledged the project does not fully match the long-term vision for a denser, more urban mixed-use Greenbrier, but said the economic benefits outweighed that mismatch. Local shoppers interviewed by WTKR said a Chesapeake Costco would be more convenient and could ease pressure on the existing Norfolk warehouse.

Greenbrier Mall opened in 1981, and Sears was one of its original anchors before closing in 2018. Costco would become the third warehouse in Hampton Roads, alongside Norfolk and the planned Newport News location, adding another major high-volume workplace to a region already familiar with the company’s traffic, wages and staffing demands. For Costco employees and applicants, the signal is clear: once approvals land, the real countdown is to demolition, buildout and the opening crew that has to make a former anchor site function like a warehouse from day one.