Costco Subsidy Takes Nine Years to Pay Back, Westfield Held to Conditions

Two documents related to the Costco subsidy that the County Executive is hoping to give to , show that it would take about eight years for the County to recoup the cost of the subsidy in property, income taxes and impact fees.

While the Council debates for $4 million over two years, the Department of Economic Development released a grant impact statement breaking down those expected revenues year by year.

The County Executive's agreement to provide the subsidy, dependent on the Council's appropriation, also has a few details about what they expect from Westfield and Costco.

• Make "commercially reasonable efforts" to procure $7 million worth of prime or subcontracting work from Montgomery County vendors. What is commercially reasonable is not explicitly defined in either document.
• Inside the mall, at a specific location, Westfield would be required to provide $100,000 in advertisements per year for five years for businesses in the Wheaton CBD 
• Sponsor the Taste of Wheaton and the Summer Concert Series each year for three years. 
• Reduce the rent of the Montgomery County's Wheaton Business Innovation Center over four years.

Montgomery County expects the cost of acquiring the Hecht's building would be over $10 million and the entire project would cost Costco and Westfield $50 million.