Existing  businesses are putting out the welcome mat for the proposed Costco warehouse store across from the Ann Arbor Airport in Pittsfield Township, even though the infill location would mean disruption and even displacement for some.

Many business owners near Ellsworth Road just west of South State said they were surprised this week when they learned news of Costco potentially becoming their new neighbor.

Airport Boulevard will be at the western edge of the new Costco, according to plans in the works to build the new warehouse store in Pittsfield Township. The location is along Ellsworth Road west of Tyner's Furniture. Some offices on the property now would be demolished.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

The nation’s ninth largest retailer is looking at the location north of West Ellsworth Road and east of Airport Boulevard as the site for a new store, township officials confirmed Wednesday. Rezoning, site plan approval and more must come together before construction begins.

Also necessary: Demolition of the existing buildings, which now house more than a dozen local businesses.

Stacy Williams, owner of What’s Cooking, a healthy meal preparation and delivery service located in the Airport Plaza Business Park, hadn’t even heard rumors about Costco building on the site where she has her commercial kitchen. 

She has leased 800 square feet of space for 3 ½ years. Her three-year lease expired six months ago and she’s been staying on a monthly basis. Her space required a build-out that included installation of a six-foot ventilation hood for cooking the 400 meals a week she prepares.

Williams said she called landlord and property owner Jake Haas when she learned about the project. He assured her, she said, that he would find a new location for her business within the business park and would cover the cost of moving.

 “He assured me that he would take care of me, that he would cover me,” Williams said. Haas has declined comment until the project is approved.

Even if she’s forced to relocate, Williams said she welcomed a new Costco. It would be convenient for her operation. 

“I do a lot of my shopping at Sam’s Club and GFS (Gordon Food Service),” she said “I’d be thrilled to have a Costco so close. It would be easy access for shopping.”

Fred Miller, owner of Tyner Furniture on the corner of State and Ellsworth, said he welcomes the traffic that the high-visibility store will bring to the area.

So will the popular Zingerman’s family of businesses - the bakehouse, the creamery, the new coffee store and administrative offices. None will be displaced. They are located in the business park, but northwest of the proposed Costco.

The business park, with its sprawling maze of single story block buildings, isn’t a magnet for crowds. It’s mostly small businesses, a mix of technology firms, service companies and even a couple of attorneys. But Zingerman’s draws a small crowd, despite its hidden location.

 “We’ve been here 18 years, and there is at least one time every week that I find myself surprised that there is a steady stream of cars,” said managing partner Frank Carollo.

Costco would boost that traffic, he said.

 “I’m guessing Costco would bring some people who would not ordinarily find us out here, and I’m guessing Costco would benefit from some of our shoppers.” 

While a Costco would mean construction disruption, it would ultimately be good for area businesses, Carollo said.

Joel Pitti, owner of the Professional Karate Schools of America (PKSA) Ann Arbor franchise, located in the same business park complex where Costco would locate, said he was surprised but excited about the project. Pitti in August is moving his karate studio to larger quarters near Zingerman’s.

But Pitti hopes the traffic generated by Costco would spill over to his business. It’s sure to bring new life to the area.

 “Not many people know about this area of town," Pitti said. “... But Ann Arbor isn’t just downtown and Briarwood.”

But construction of a new Costco would do more than boost business, Pitti said. It would boost morale. There has been little construction because of the recession. 

“Mentally, it will mean we are getting out of the recession,” Pitti said. “It will symbolize a beginning. Finally, someone is going to build something.”