KC mayor says he ‘may not be able to make a miracle happen’ for midtown Costco
It may be that hope is running out for all those wishing that Kansas City’s midtown Costco would remain a retail center rather than, as Costco as has planned, turn into a business center.
In answering questions Monday night on Facebook live, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who has been in contact with Costco management, was asked if he had any updates on the proposed changeover, one that many customers have bemoaned.
“Let me be straight with you all,” the mayor said, “talk to you one-on-one, just you, me and the people of the internet. I have some concerns with our ability to manage to make that continue to be a wholesale warehouse as it is now.
“We’ve had conversations with Costco leadership. I think they seem committed to some change, plans long-term. We’re going to try to continue to make sure that, while being fair to our taxpayers, we share how important it is as a provider of groceries and services in the core of our community.”
Lucas continued. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to make a miracle happen on this one, but we have seen a commitment to them staying in the core of the city. We’ll keep up the conversations. But we may be seeing a real change in the Costco and midtown. Disappoints not just me, but I know probably hundreds of thousands of Kansas Citians, people in northeast Johnson County, KCK and other places that are close.”
Rumors began spreading in January that the Costco in midtown, a presence at 241 Linwood Blvd. for 20 years, was marked to be changed from a wholesale warehouse to a business center. As such, it would carry a larger selection of food and items for businesses, restaurants and convenience stores.
But to the dismay of customers, it would no longer be offering its food court, pharmacy, clothing, eyeglasses, plants, books or furniture. Over the years, the warehouse had become a community asset for the midtown community. The nearest Costco centers to midtown are 15 miles away with two in Johnson County and one each in Independence and North Kansas City.
On Jan. 15, the rumors prompted the Kansas City Council to approve a resolution directing the city manager and the city’s economic development agencies to initiate talks with the company, with the aim of keeping the store in its current form. As of Tuesday, more than 4,000 people had attached their names to a change.org petition urging Costco “to listen to the voices of those who routinely visit the 241 Linwood Boulevard location and keep it as a retail Costco.”
“Many families. . .depend on this store for its affordable prices, fresh produce, and diverse offerings, something we fear will diminish under a Business Center model,” the petition said.
The Costco opened in 2001 under the Glover Plan, a midtown tax increment financing district near 31st Street and Gillham Road that also brought a Home Depot to the site. Roughly 30 acres of housing were cleared for the project, with tax increment financing helping replace the neighborhood with one of the city’s first suburban-style big-box retail developments near downtown. It was the first Costco in the Kansas City area.
The Linwood Costco, employees have been told, is to shut down near the end of 2026, perhaps in November, around the same time new Costco stores are set to open in Lee’s Summit and Lawrence, Kansas. It could take as long as three months for the store to reopen as a business center.
This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 2:07 PM.
