Almost a year after Costco lodged a renewed bid for a warehouse in the South East, this time in Pakenham, there is still no certainty that the American retail giant will succeed where they once failed in Officer.
On 17 March 2025, Costco submitted an application for a new location at 130 Greenhills Road, pursuing its target of growth areas for continued expansion in the Australian market.
The hype has surged in the past year, as the media has widely reported on the billion-dollar American company’s expectation to be serving bulk goods in Pakenham by 2027.
However, neither the council nor the state government has given its final approval. The current application has yet to reveal detailed designs in a formal public notice, almost a year on from submission.
Despite the hype, a shadow is cast on the proposal by the previously rejected bid in 2023 by Costco to build a warehouse in Officer South.
Formally, an application was submitted and subsequently approved by the council to build a Costco warehouse in the industrial estate of Kaduna Business Park.
However, the Minister for Planning vetoed the approved permit on the grounds that the commercial use of the warehouse infringed the strict industrial use of the site.
At the time, the state government said the decision was about ensuring the supply of well-located and affordable industrial land to support the economy.
Kaduna Business Park is zoned for industrial use, meaning that retail uses are prohibited and require an approved permit by planning authorities to proceed.
Furthermore, it sits within the Officer-Pakenham State Significant Industrial Precinct, which covers most of the land marked for factories in both suburbs.
This adds another layer of stringency to an already strict zoning. This precinct is one of the few marked as vital for the city’s future industrial capacity in Plan Melbourne 2017-2050.
Cardinia Shire supported the Officer bid and previous reports of pre-application discussions with Costco around this new Pakenham site indicate the council is still keen for locally baked double chocolate chunk cookies.
However, the Pakenham site rests on land with very similar planning provisions and still requires a planning permit, as retail is a prohibited use.
The proposal is on industrial zoning, precisely within the Pakenham South Industrial Precinct.
The Victorian Planning Authority confirmed to the Gazette that this area is also within the Officer-Pakenham State Significant Industrial Precinct.
Like Officer South, this site appears to be within some of the most inflexible zoning in the state and Costco must attempt to justify its retail use on similar grounds to where it once failed.
The application will go before the state government only if Cardinia Shire approves this new permit. The council has yet to make a final decision on the application.
If councillors do approve the permit, then it will be up to the Minister for Planning and the various government agencies to grant or deny an exception for the multinational giant.
