Costco is planning a significant upgrade to its popular gas station at the Reno warehouse on 2155 Harvard Way, aiming to ease those notoriously long lines that frustrate members during peak times.
The company recently presented at a Ward 3 neighborhood advisory meeting sharing details on relocating the fuel facility on the same property. Instead of keeping the current setup with 10 dispensers and 20 fueling positions, Costco wants to nearly double capacity by installing 20 new dispensers and 40 fueling positions. The new pumps would move just south of their existing spot—still west of Harvard Way, north of Steen Drive, and west of the main warehouse building.
A transportation study shared during the session projects that the expanded station will handle fuel demand more efficiently. While it anticipates more primary trips to the site during busy hours (jumping from about 120 to 184 trips in the weekday PM peak, and from 134 to 212 on Saturday midday), the added pumps should shorten vehicle queues and wait times overall. Planners concluded the changes won’t significantly disrupt traffic on nearby streets.
The project involves demolishing the old dispensers and canopy. To offset the space needed for the larger fuel area, about 89 net parking stalls would be removed from the lot. Even after the adjustment, the site would retain 1,444 parking stalls for the warehouse—still comfortably above the 1,280 required by city code for general retail. On the greener side, Costco plans to replace 38 trees in the project area and add 13 more for a net gain in landscaping…