The retail giant Costco Wholesale Corporation is interested in replacing southwest Cary's MacGregor Village shopping center with one of its warehouse-style stores.
Town of Cary staff have confirmed that Costco submitted a "pre-application" to the town in September.
The early documents include a conceptual plan that calls for the demolition of all the 1980s-era mall's buildings except for its bank, according to Cary's staff and mayor.
If Costco followed through on its plans, the membership-based store would build a 147,000-square-foot store and a gas station, Costco's second in Wake County, at the western corner of U.S. 64 and U.S. 1.
A Costco spokeswoman said the company does not comment on its plans in specific markets. A representative of Simon Property Group, the Indiana-based parent company of the shopping center, said the company wouldn't announce any changes until it has a fully executed lease.
Costco, not Simon Property Group, submitted the early planning documents. The meetings are not evidence of any deal between the retailer and the property owner, as Cary does not require property owner's participation in the pre-submittal review.
Costco is "negotiating with the current owner of the shopping center ... for the property," Mayor Harold Weinbrecht wrote in his blog, citing a Costco representative. "It appears that the site plan will not move forward until an agreement is reached."
The mall is home to 19 businesses, according to the Simon Property Group website.
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