British ColumbiaSouth Surrey will be getting a Costco location as the popular wholesale retailer expands its footprint in Metro Vancouver despite local residents’ concerns about traffic and environmental impacts.City council approved wholesale retailer’s application on MondayAkshay Kulkarni · CBC News · Posted: Nov 19, 2025 7:27 PM EST | Last Updated: 10 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.An existing Costco location is seen on Surrey’s King George Boulevard on Nov. 19, 2025. A new location is coming to South Surrey in 2027. (Sohrab Sandhu/CBC)South Surrey will be getting a Costco location as the popular wholesale retailer expands its footprint in Metro Vancouver despite local residents’ concerns about traffic and environmental impacts.Costco is set to open a warehouse store on a 13.2-hectare site near the intersection of 164 Street and 20 Avenue in South Surrey, adjacent to Highway 99 and a townhouse complex.While there is already a Costco location in Surrey, it is a 12-kilometre drive north in the Newton neighbourhood, and another location is farther away in Langley.A number of local residents expressed concern that the new Costco location, which is set to open in 2027, will bring a heavy volume of cars to a largely residential neighbourhood, but a Surrey city councillor says traffic upgrades will go some way to alleviate worries.Terry McManus, who lives in the townhome complex just opposite the new Costco site, said hundreds of residents there signed a petition opposing the new location — and dozens attended a Monday public hearing.”We all like Costco, but we’re just wondering maybe if they could pick a little bit better location, maybe perhaps along 176 [Street], so that we’re not fighting 1,000 cars per hour in and out of the Costco,” he said Monday before the public hearing.”They’re going to illuminate the parking 24 hours a day — and the noise from the tire centre, that’s going to be impactful to the residents there,” he added.WATCH | Community responds to news of new Costco:Surrey approves new Costco location but some residents are concerned about trafficIt’s big news for shoppers, businesses and commuters in the Lower Mainland. Surrey council has greenlit a proposal to build a second Costco in the city. The CBC’s Sohrab Sandhu reports on concerns about traffic and the impact on other stores. McManus said a newly-built elementary school is a block away from the Costco location, and there may be other uses for the large parcel of land.”A park, a dog park, a community garden — there’s lots of opportunities there for the city to improve, but to drop a major warehouse in our residential area might not be the best idea,” he said.Shoppers are seen at the Costco location in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood on Nov. 19, 2025. (Sohrab Sandhu/CBC)Joslyn Young, the CEO of the Surrey and White Rock Board of Trade, said the new Costco represents a significant economic opportunity — but residents’ perspectives deserve thoughtful consideration.”Currently people in the South Surrey region would have to drive to either Langley or the Newton area of Surrey to get to a Costco,” Young said.”So that means you’re getting more people driving in the city. And that, of course, has its own negative outcomes.”Young said that when a large employer like Costco comes to an area, there’s a positive economic effect as people shop in the surrounding region.Surrey Coun. Pardeep Kooner said the city aims to mitigate residents’ traffic concerns by investing millions in road improvements, including a four-lane overpass over Highway 99 and 20 Avenue.”There’s a lot of investment that Costco is putting in as well into improving the roads,” Kooner said.”There’s over 1,000 trees on that property,” she added. “However … over half the trees will be saved or be replanted through this project.”Surrey Coun. Pardeep Kooner is bullish on the positive effects of the new Costco. (Sohrab Sandhu/CBC)Kooner is bullish on the positive economic potential of a new Costco and said council was working to balance demand with appropriate locations for the large warehouses.”Development needs to happen in our city. We need jobs, we need the economic boom,” she said.”And I think Costco developing in our city shows the strength that our city has in its numbers, and what Costco believes our city can provide them.”With files from Sohrab Sandhu and On The Coast
New Costco coming to South Surrey as some residents voice traffic concerns
