Costco Wholesale Corp., the big Issaquah, Wash.-based membership warehouse chain, is attempting to buy the building near downtown Spokane that it will vacate next month after it opens a new, bigger outlet in the Spokane Valley.


Kyle BrinJones, broker at The Terra Firm real estate agency here who is representing Costco, says the company has just under seven years left on its lease at the current store, which is located at 800 E. Third and includes 100,000 square feet of floor space. It also has an option to lease it for an additional 10 years.


Costco initially hoped to sublease the building to an interested tenant, BrinJones says. The company still is advertising to sublease the structure, but it also has made an offer to buy the building from former Spokane businessman Cip Paulsen Sr., of Palm Springs, Calif. Talks havent progressed beyond that point yet, BrinJones says.


If its successful in its attempt to acquire the building, Costco then would try to sell it, he says, adding that the company would prefer to do that rather than having to deal with a long-term subleasing situation.


The company hasnt lined up a prospective buyer for the property yet.


Costcos new store here, which is located at 5601 E. Sprague, west of a Home Depot USA Inc. store, is scheduled to open Feb 1. It includes a 143,000-square-foot store and a 5,200-square-foot tire center and garage, as well as a four-island fueling facility.


For several years prior to building the new structure in the Valley, the company had been rumored to be looking to replace its store near downtown.