Traffic patterns on Old Vail Road could shift noticeably if a proposed Costco warehouse, fuel station, and EV charging hub clears a Mayor and Council vote—bringing a major retail anchor to a stretch of southeast Tucson currently lined with vacant industrial land.
According to the city’s special exception staff report, the proposed store at 9688 E. Old Vail Road would be 160,769 square feet—a figure that rounds to roughly 165,000 square feet on the preliminary development plan. The site sits about 4,000 feet west of Houghton Road on land currently zoned Heavy Industrial (I-2), bordered by industrial uses on all sides and the Union Pacific Railroad to the south.
Under Tucson’s zoning code, any retail establishment larger than 100,000 square feet in an I-2 zone requires a special exception, meaning the project can’t move forward without a vote from Mayor and Council. City planning staff is recommending approval, and a Zoning Examiner hearing is scheduled for September 24.
What’s being built
The development plan shows the Costco anchoring the west corner of the site, with 831 parking spaces fanning out to the north and east of the building…