Construction is underway on a new Katy area Costco Wholesale store slated to open in the first three months of 2014 at the southwest corner of I-10 and the Grand Parkway.

Trammel Crow Houston is in charge of development for the Costco project and other anticipated retailers, office buildings and apartment complexes at the commercial plot at the intersection of Grand Parkway and I-10. The estimated 123-acre site is titled "Grand Crossing" and will consist of mixed-use development.

Trammell Crow representative Jeff Pate said groundbreaking for the new Costco took place in late July, and construction on the more than 100,000-square-foot building is already moving faster than originally anticipated.

"We certainly hope that it's positive for the community," Pate said. "I think it certainly makes sense for Costco as a company, and it [has] been expressed to them there's a large desire to have them in the area."

The Houston City Council approved a tax abatement for Costco July 17, allowing the store to be repaid for infrastructure expenses up to $1 million. The tax rebate was granted as an incentive to build within Houston's extraterritorial jurisdiction, and Houston will receive an estimated $8 million in sales tax revenue over time.

Pate said details regarding other specific development projects at the Grand Crossing site are still in the works and will be released in the coming months.

"We're excited and we think [the Costco project is] additive to the community," Pate said. "We expect there to be a number of other uses for the [Grand Crossing] site."

The new Katy store will mark Costco's fifth Houston-area location.