If you’ve traveled down East Nine Mile Road recently, you may notice the progress being made on Pensacola’s first Costco Wholesale Club.
While a firm opening date hasn’t been announced yet, all signs indicate the wait won’t be much longer.
Along with what appears to be a near-completed gas station pump canopy, passersby can begin to see the outer walls of the wholesale club along with the outline its future parking lot. Motorist can also see crews working in the road as preparations are made for turn lanes into the Costco parking lot.
Searching “career opportunities” for Pensacola on Costco’s website shows the company is hiring for a wide range of positions including stockers, cashiers, deli clerks, bakers, tire installers, human resources and pharmacy staff and much more at its under-construction store at 225 E. Nine Mile Road.
A pay range scale listed on the website indicates indicates most positions have a minimum starting salary of $20 or $21 an hour and a maximum starting salary of roughly $31-$33 dollars an hour, though some specific specialized roles, including pharmacists and managers, can earn much more.
The News Journal reached out to Costco’s corporate offices regarding a possible completion date and current construction but did not receive a response.
According to Costco’s partner MG2, it takes 110 days to build a store. Southeast Industrial Construction began construction in mid-January.
Why did the Pensacola Costco take so long?
Costco spent over a year deliberating with Escambia County officials and ironing out their plans for the Nine Mile Road store.
Escambia County initially received an application from Thomas Engineering, a Tampa-based engineering firm, in June of 2024 on behalf of Costco to develop its first Pensacola store inside an existing shopping center on Nine Mile Road.
The group resubmitted its proposal in October of 2024 and painted a clearer picture of the project, but Costco still didn’t receive a development order from the DRC.
Another set of site plan drawings was filed with Escambia County in March of 2025, making slight revisions to the previous proposal. Developers reduced the proposed number of parking spots to 830 and added plans to create bike racks next to the liquor store.
Escambia County received the fourth set of plans on July 14, 2025, and the final set was received in August 2025. After the fourth submission in July, an Escambia County spokesperson told the News Journal that Costco’s plans were being held up by state regulatory items at the time.
Can you still shop at Costco without being a member?
While customers need to provide proof of membership to shop in-store, Costco allows users to shop online without a membership. To compensate, the store will add a 5% surcharge to your purchase. Costco’s pharmacy is also open to everyone.
According to Costco’s website, non-members can use gifted Costco Shop Cards to make in-store purchases, but they would need to be accompanied by a Costco member, and shop cards can only be purchased by Costco members. They can be used to shop warehouse goods and access the Costco gas pumps.
There are some fun online-only Costco products to score as well, such as a 68-piece Dorm Room Snack Box, frozen Giordano’s Chicago deep dish stuffed pizza, or a starter pack of restaurant-quality Xiao Long Bao Soup Dumplings.
Fast facts about Costco
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Costco taking shape, hiring dozens of positions at $20+ an hour
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson and Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
