BEL AIR COSTCO WATCH.

Harford County ยท Bel Air, MD

Is Costco Coming to Bel Air?

A public-record tracker for the proposed Costco Wholesale store at Plumtree Road: what has been filed, what has been said, and the county's last documented status.

Last checked

Costco Wholesale has spent two years seeking approval for a warehouse club and fuel station on a 22 to 34 acre parcel at Plumtree Road and Emmorton Road, known in county records as Bel Air Village. The same land was proposed for a relocated Walmart a decade earlier, for the same reason the Costco plan has since stalled: traffic. The project is filed with Harford County as Preliminary Plan P327-2024 and Site Plan S326-2024, developed by Bel Air Village LLC (WLR Investment Group) with Costco as the anchor tenant. Every version of the required traffic study submitted so far has been sent back for revision. The county's most recent public action, in January 2026, opened a comment period on a required road improvement package. The site plan has not been approved. It has also not been rejected.

This page tracks the public record: county filings, hearing agendas, and local newspaper coverage, mostly the Baltimore Sun's Aegis bureau. Last county-record check: July 13, 2026, including every Development Advisory Committee agenda published from January through July 2026 and the county's newsflash archive. None mention this project. The most recent confirmed action found was the close of a public comment period on January 23, 2026. See the sources below for anything posted after that date.

Emmorton Rd & Plumtree Rd, Bel Air South, MD 21015 · View larger map

The Proposal

Official name
Costco Wholesale at Bel Air Village
Proposed use
Warehouse club with a 24-pump fuel station
Store size
~152,000–162,000 sq ft (varies by filing)
Parking
821 spaces
Site
22.5–33.75 acres · parcels 56 & 60, split into 7 commercial lots (county materials also describe 5 pad sites; not fully reconciled)
Projected traffic
~5,500 customers/day (Costco's own filing)
Location
Plumtree Rd & Emmorton Rd, at MD 24 / MD 924 / Bel Air South Pkwy (also called Emmorton)
Zoning
Already B-3 (commercial). This is site-plan review, not a rezoning case.
Developer
Bel Air Village LLC (WLR Investment Group)
Filed by
Colliers Engineering & Design, for Costco Wholesale Corp.
Plan numbers
Preliminary Plan P327-2024 · Site Plan S326-2024
Reviewing body
Harford County Development Advisory Committee
Significance
Would be Harford County's first Costco

Timeline

Background Moving forward Setback New development
  1. Jul 13, 2026
    Latest check

    No county decision found since January

    No new filing, hearing date, or county decision has been found since the January 2026 comment period closed. This page will update when that changes.

  2. Jan 23, 2026
    Moving forward

    Public comment period closes

    The comment window on the road improvement package closed. As of this page's last check, no further hearing date or county decision has been posted.[11]

  3. Jan 9, 2026
    Moving forward

    County publishes the required road package

    County Executive Bob Cassilly's administration published the required road improvements: Plumtree Road widened to a 36 foot minimum with a two-way turn lane, plus new signals. Peak-hour traffic requirements were set for the Plumtree Road, Wheel Road, and Bel Air South Parkway intersections. The county described the public comment window that followed as unprecedented for a project at this stage.[10][15]

  4. Jul–Oct 2025
    New development

    A car wash is proposed for the same parcel

    A separate applicant proposed Auto Spa Express Car Wash for one of the parcel's other commercial lots: a 5,223 sq ft building with a 130 foot automated tunnel. This is a distinct site-plan review from Costco's own, though both sit within the same seven-lot Bel Air Village subdivision. The county's Development Advisory Committee reviewed the car wash on October 1, 2025. County records name the landowner as Bel Air Village LLC (WLR Investment Group), the entity behind the broader subdivision.[8][9]

  5. Feb–Jun 2025
    Setback

    The revised traffic study also comes up short

    County planning flagged continued congestion concerns in the revised study. An independent engineer then found it undercounted annual trips by more than 1.3 million, largely by missing the gas station's added draw. Maryland's State Highway Administration required every intersection to hold Level of Service "D."[6][7]

  6. Sep 18, 2024
    Setback

    Plans not approved

    The Development Advisory Committee sent the plan back: a revised traffic study, Plumtree Road widened from two lanes to five, a new signal at Route 924/Emmorton & Bright Oak, and a speed limit change. Glengate HOA president Julius Silvestri said at the time: "I see this as hopeless. We are being trapped."[5]

  7. Aug 21, 2024
    Moving forward

    Formal filings submitted

    Preliminary Plan P327-2024 and Site Plan S326-2024 were filed by Colliers Engineering & Design on Costco's behalf.[4]

  8. Jul 11, 2024
    Moving forward

    Community input meeting, Abingdon Fire Company

    Local coverage reported more than 100 residents attending. Costco's attorney, Joseph Snee, presented the plan; longtime resident Sam Harvin raised the same skepticism that had followed the Walmart study on this land a decade before.[2][3]

  9. Jun 24, 2024
    Moving forward

    Costco proposal surfaces publicly

    A 152,000 sq ft Costco with a 24-pump gas station is proposed for the Bel Air Village site. It would be Harford County's first Costco.[1]

  10. 2012–2016
    Background

    Before Costco, this land tried to become a Walmart

    Walmart proposed relocating its Constant Friendship store to this same Route 24 and Plumtree Road site in 2012. Hundreds of residents opposed it, citing many of the same traffic concerns raised about Costco today. Walmart abandoned the plan in November 2015 and expanded its Abingdon store instead in 2016.[12][13][14]

Sources

  1. [1]WMAR-2 News · "Costco could be coming to Bel Air" · Jun 24, 2024
  2. [2]Patch · community meeting coverage · Jul 2024
  3. [3]Harford County Agenda Center · Jul 11, 2024 meeting agenda
  4. [4]Harford County Development Advisory Committee · calendar / filing record
  5. [5]Baltimore Sun / Aegis · "Plans not approved, revised traffic study requested" · Sep 19, 2024
  6. [6]Baltimore Sun / Aegis · "Traffic study underestimated traffic by more than 1 million annual trips" · May 1, 2025
  7. [7]Baltimore Sun / Aegis · "Traffic study debate continues" · Jun 12, 2025
  8. [8]Baltimore Sun / Aegis · "Car wash proposed to join Bel Air Costco" · Jul 14, 2025
  9. [9]Harford County Agenda Center · Oct 1, 2025 hearing agenda (car wash)
  10. [10]Harford County Government · Jan 9, 2026 press release
  11. [11]Bel Air News & Views · "Harford seeks public input on required road improvements" · Jan 2026
  12. [12]WMAR-2 News · Walmart-era background
  13. [13]Baltimore Sun / Aegis · "Walmart abandons plan" · Nov 2015
  14. [14]Baltimore Sun · "Walmart plans to expand Abingdon store" · Jul 2016
  15. [15]Wayback Machine · archived copy of the county's road-improvements page · captured Jan 9, 2026

Follow Along

The county's newsflash post carries the primary announcement and any updates: Harford County newsflash. The county's original project page has since been taken down; an archived copy from January 2026 is still available.

Hearing agendas post to the county's Agenda Center before each Development Advisory Committee meeting.

Local coverage has appeared in the Baltimore Sun's Aegis bureau. Search "Bel Air Costco" or "Bel Air Village" there for anything newer than this page's last check.