If you live off Columbia Pike, you've probably heard Costco is coming. The town's paperwork shows how far along it is: a Costco site plan for a 168,244 square foot warehouse club and a 32-pump gas station is in front of the Thompson's Station Planning Commission, for land on the west side of Columbia Pike just south of I-840.
Quick answer, as of October 28, 2026: Costco has a site plan filed with the Town of Thompson's Station for 5001 Merchant Lane, inside the Hatcher Cotton Subdivision at 4521 Columbia Pike. Town staff recommended approval with 13 contingencies, and the Planning Commission took it up on October 27, 2026. The town hasn't posted the result yet. Neither the town nor Costco has announced an opening date.
I live in Canterbury here in Thompson's Station, about two miles by road from this site, and I'll say it plainly: I'm excited to have a Costco here. Having one this close means quick runs, family dinners, a flat screen TV on a whim, and yes, a bunch of samples. My concern as a resident is the same one you probably have, and that's traffic on Columbia Pike, so the traffic section below gets the most detail. I've been selling real estate since 2013 and investing in it since 2005. Everything below comes from the town's documents unless it's labeled as reporting, and I'll update the post after each vote.
Last updated: October 28, 2026. The October 27, 2026 vote result is pending.
Is Costco coming to Thompson's Station?
Costco is in the approval process in Thompson's Station, and it isn't approved for construction yet, as of October 2026. The town's Planning Commission staff report for October 27, 2026 is titled "Costco Site Plan," and the building drawings in it carry the Costco Wholesale name.
The talks became public in early September 2026. Mayor Brian Stover told WSMV on September 8, 2026 that Costco approached the town, not the other way around. "They've come to us," he said.
Where would the Thompson's Station Costco be?
The site is 5001 Merchant Lane, which is Tract E of the Hatcher Cotton Subdivision at 4521 Columbia Pike. It sits on the west side of Columbia Pike just south of the I-840 interchange, with I-840 along its north edge and the town's dog park on its west side, per the October 27, 2026 site plan. Local reporting places it across Columbia Pike from Mars Petcare.
The Costco tract is 24.64 acres. The whole Hatcher Cotton Subdivision is 43.96 acres on the final plat the Planning Commission approved on September 22, 2026.
What's in the Costco site plan?
The plan is one single-story warehouse club with a gas station on the same tract. These figures come from the town's October 27, 2026 staff report.
| Item | What the plan shows |
|---|---|
| Building | 168,244 sq ft, single story, called a "discount shopping club" |
| Gas station | 32 pumps, 11,655 sq ft |
| Parking | 854 spaces (631 required), including 10 EV charging spaces |
| Trees | 415 planted (308 required) |
| Bike parking | more than 60 spaces |
| Entrances | three, all on Columbia Pike |
| Greenway | a 10 foot wide paved extension and trailhead from Columbia Pike to the dog park |
| Zoning | Community Commercial (CC) |
The three entrances work like this. The north one is right turns only on the way out. The middle one is planned as a signal, and that signal is under TDOT review. The south one is right in, right out.
No rezoning is on the agenda. The land is already zoned Community Commercial, and the staff report treats a site plan as a non-discretionary decision, which means the commission checks it against the town's rules and approves it, approves it with contingencies, or denies it.
Who's behind the project?
GBT Realty, Costco and HCA Healthcare are the names tied to the site as of October 2026. The April 2026 traffic study was prepared for GBT Realty, and Mayor Stover told WSMV that GBT bought the land. Costco Wholesale Corporation's name is on the building drawings. Stover also told WSMV that HCA Healthcare bought 15 acres of the property.
The town's April 28, 2026 plat review lists the planned uses for the whole subdivision: a free-standing emergency room of about 18,000 square feet, a retail plaza of about 78,000 square feet, the discount shopping club, and several restaurants, some with drive-thrus. Each lot needs its own site plan approval.
What happened at the October 27, 2026 planning commission meeting?
The Costco site plan was item 5 on the Planning Commission's October 27, 2026 agenda, with staff recommending approval with 13 contingencies. As of October 28, 2026, the town hasn't posted minutes, video or a vote result for that meeting, and no local outlet has reported one. This section gets the result as soon as the town posts it.
Here's how it got this far, from the town's records:
- April 28, 2026: the Planning Commission approved the Hatcher Cotton preliminary plat, five commercial lots on 46.66 acres.
- June 18, 2026: the Costco site plan was first submitted.
- August 2026: the Hatcher Cotton final plat was deferred at the applicant's request.
- September 22, 2026: the Planning Commission approved the final plat, 6 to 0, with staff contingencies.
- October 2, 2026: the final Costco site plan submittal came in.
- October 27, 2026: the Planning Commission took up the Costco site plan. Result pending.
What has to happen before construction starts?
Even with a yes vote, the staff report sets several steps before Costco can pull a building permit:
- The Hatcher Cotton final plat has to be recorded before any building permit application is accepted.
- The road and traffic fixes from the traffic study have to be finalized with town staff and written into the Columbia Pike Corridor Plan before a building permit application is accepted.
- The developer has to sign the Highway 31 Corridor Improvement Plan Agreement, which splits the road work and cost among TDOT, the town and other projects on the corridor, before a building permit is issued.
- The applicant has to sign a Development Agreement with the town before the land development permit is issued.
- The Williamson County Fire Marshal's Office, every utility provider, and the state and federal permit agencies have to sign off before the pre-construction meeting.
- TDOT still has to approve the signal and final design for the entrances. The town engineer's comment says any approval is subject to those final TDOT decisions.
What does it mean for Columbia Pike traffic?
The traffic study behind this site calls for turn lanes and signal changes along Columbia Pike from Tollgate Boulevard down to Thompsons Ridge Road and Buckner Road, as of April 2026. T-Square Engineering prepared it for GBT Realty, and it covers the whole Hatcher Cotton development. It estimates 11,794 new vehicle trips on a typical weekday once everything is built.
The study's recommendations, as summarized in the town's April 28, 2026 staff report, include:
- Retiming the signals at Columbia Pike and Tollgate Boulevard, Declaration Way, both I-840 ramps, Critz Lane, Fountain View Boulevard, Thompson's Station Road, and Thompsons Ridge Road/Buckner Road.
- An added right-turn lane on both the eastbound and westbound I-840 off ramps, if right of way is available.
- Right-turn lanes at Critz Lane and on all four approaches at Thompson's Station Road, if right of way is available.
- A right-turn signal head at Fountain View Boulevard.
- Turn lanes at each new site entrance, with signals pending talks with the town and TDOT.
Who pays for which piece gets settled in the Highway 31 Corridor Improvement Plan Agreement.
The bigger fix is TDOT's widening of Columbia Pike to four lanes, from Franklin south through Thompson's Station and into Spring Hill. In April 2025, TDOT accepted the town's request to speed it up, which moved preliminary engineering from 2029 to 2026. The town committed $15 million in local funds to make that happen, per the town's Columbia Pike widening page.
One more item to watch: Ordinance 2026-022 would drop the speed limit on Columbia Pike inside town limits from 45 to 40 mph. TDOT asked for it to line up with the widening design, and its second reading is on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen's proposed November 10, 2026 agenda.
When will the Thompson's Station Costco open?
There's no opening date, as of October 28, 2026. The town hasn't announced one, and Costco's "Coming Soon" page on costco.com lists three openings for October 2026, none of them in Tennessee. Construction can't start until the steps above are done, and any date you see online right now didn't come from the town or Costco.
Is Costco coming to Spring Hill, TN?
The Costco in the approval process is in Thompson's Station, not Spring Hill, as of October 2026. By road, the site is about 6 miles from Spring Hill City Hall. The nearest Costco today, in Brentwood, is about 23 miles from Spring Hill City Hall.
Where is the closest Costco to Thompson's Station and Franklin today?
Williamson County's only Costco warehouse is the Brentwood store at 98 Seaboard Lane, Brentwood, TN 37027, open since 1999 per costco.com. It's about 13 miles by road from the Thompson's Station site.
Which neighborhoods are closest to the Costco site?
Tollgate Village is the closest neighborhood I cover, at under a mile by road. These are driving distances to the site's Columbia Pike frontage, measured October 28, 2026 and rounded to a tenth of a mile.
| Neighborhood | Measured from | Driving distance to the site |
|---|---|---|
| Tollgate Village | Tollgate Boulevard roundabout | 0.9 miles |
| Fountain View | Fountain View Boulevard | 1.3 miles |
| Avenue Downs | Avenue Downs Drive | 1.7 miles |
| Canterbury | south and north ends of the neighborhood | 1.7 to 2.1 miles |
| Parsons Valley | middle of the community, off Columbia Pike | 2.4 miles |
| Sagefield site | 1733 Lewisburg Pike | 2.9 miles |
Sagefield, Simon's mixed-use project on Lewisburg Pike, is a separate development about three miles away by road. My Sagefield post covers that one.
What should buyers and sellers near the site watch?
Watch Columbia Pike traffic, the approval steps and the timing. I won't put a number on what a Costco does to a home's value down the road, because there's no sales data tied to this site yet.
Columbia Pike between Tollgate Boulevard and Thompson's Station Road is where the new entrances, the signal and the turn lanes go. If you're buying, drive your route to I-840 at 7:30 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon before you write an offer. If you're selling, expect buyers to ask about the project, and have the facts ready.
On approvals, the October 27 result, the Development Agreement with the town, and the Highway 31 corridor agreement are the next public markers. Each one shows up on a town agenda before it happens.
On timing, no date exists yet, and the road work and permits come before any building goes up. Plan a move on your own timeline, not on a rumored opening.
For everything else about living here, start with my Thompson's Station guide.
Frequently asked questions about the Thompson's Station Costco
Is Costco coming to Thompson's Station, TN?
Costco is in the approval process. As of October 28, 2026, the town has a Costco site plan for 5001 Merchant Lane off Columbia Pike, staff recommended approval with 13 contingencies, and the Planning Commission took it up on October 27, 2026. The town hasn't posted the result.
Where is the Thompson's Station Costco site?
5001 Merchant Lane, Tract E of the Hatcher Cotton Subdivision at 4521 Columbia Pike. It's on the west side of Columbia Pike just south of I-840, next to the town's dog park.
Will the Thompson's Station Costco have a gas station?
Yes. The site plan shows a 32-pump gas station of 11,655 square feet on the same 24.64-acre tract as the 168,244 square foot warehouse.
When will the Thompson's Station Costco open?
There's no opening date as of October 28, 2026. The town hasn't announced one, and Costco's coming-soon page doesn't list Thompson's Station. Construction permits come only after the plat, road and development agreements are in place.
Is Costco coming to Spring Hill, TN?
The Costco in the approval process is in Thompson's Station, about 6 miles by road from Spring Hill City Hall. The nearest Costco today is in Brentwood, about 23 miles from Spring Hill City Hall.
Where is the nearest Costco to Franklin and Thompson's Station now?
The Brentwood warehouse at 98 Seaboard Lane, Williamson County's only Costco, open since 1999. It's about 13 miles by road from the Thompson's Station site.
Live near Columbia Pike and wondering what this means for your house?
I'll keep this post current after every vote. If you own near the site or you're looking at a home off Columbia Pike, send me a DM, or text or call me at 615-392-1186, and I'll walk you through where things stand.
Sources: Town of Thompson's Station Planning Commission staff reports of April 28, 2026 and October 27, 2026; the October 27, 2026 agenda packet; the Town's Columbia Pike widening page; costco.com; WSMV (September 8, 2026); Williamson Source (October 23, 2026). Distances measured October 28, 2026 with OpenStreetMap routing.
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