Plainfield Costco Plan Moves Forward With Joliet Partnership

PLAINFIELD, IL — Plainfield village trustees signed off on an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Joliet that moved the long-anticipated Costco Wholesale project closer to reality. Trustees unanimously voted to approve a pact with the city calling for public improvement cost sharing, roadway maintenance, mutual aid and sanitary sewer service for the 21-acre development at the northwest corner of the Route 30 and I-55 interchange.

The Costco project is part of The Boulevard, a long-awaited development at the former truck stop site in Plainfield and Joliet. Years ago, discussions on The Boulevard were put on hold "due to the recession and lack of any real progress from the commercial development sector," Economic Development Manager Jake Melrose said in a memo to trustees.

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But the project "has since been rejuvenated" thanks to the impending arrival of Costco, Melrose said.

"It's been the rumor mill for a long time," trustee Brian Wojowski said of Costco. "I'm very excited to see this project come to fruition."

Currently, the closest Costco locations are in Naperville and Bolingbrook. In 2017, many Patch readers responded to a survey saying Costco was among the business they would most like to see come to Plainfield, and in 2015 Mayor Mike Collins told Patch that the wholesaler and "a couple more" retailers were in the works for the village.

Because the Costco site plan overlaps 7 acres into the Joliet portion of The Boulevard, an intergovernmental agreement was needed to move the development forward, according to Melrose.

While the City of Joliet's sanitary sewer system and water are available at the site, the system is undersized and outdated and would need to be replaced for the development to proceed, at an estimated cost of $2 million to $3 million, Melrose said. But thanks to recent Route 30 improvements, Plainfield's utilities are readily available at the site. The intergovernmental agreement provides that the City of Joliet will use the village's water, storm and sanitary sewer service for its Boulevard development area.

In exchange, the village will collect tap-on fees and bill the services as it would in any development, including the installation of water meters compatible with Plainfield's meter reading system.

The agreement also stipulates specific measures Joliet will be required to undertake during the development and building permit process to ensure the safety of Plainfield's water and wastewater sewer system, Melrose said.

All stormwater facilities for The Boulevard are located in Plainfield, so as part of the agreement, the village will provide those services for the Joliet portion of the project and assume the responsibility for storm sewer maintenance.

The Boulevard Roadway will be a dedicated right-of-way for both Plainfield and Joliet, but the majority of the 4,000-foot road will be located in Plainfield. As part of the agreement, Plainfield will assume responsibilities including snow removal, street sweeping and street lighting. Meanwhile, Joliet will be responsible for the costs of all major road repairs, reconstruction, patching and resurfacing.

Plainfield police will also assume the responsibility of responding to calls for police service in the Joliet Boulevard area, while the City of Joliet will still provide assistance in accordance with existing mutual aid protocols.