Costco, a members-only big-box retailer that offers deep discounts on a variety of items, has purchased 20.7 acres in Ankeny on which to build store, Polk County real estate records show.

Costco Wholesale Corp., based in Issaquah, Wash., paid Threshold Otter Creek LLC $7.3 million for the property at 4000 N.E. Spectrum Drive, records show.

The transaction was recorded March 17.

The Ankeny City Council in February approved an infrastructure agreement with Costco that outlines the timing of both public and private improvements tied to the project.

The city is completing a sewer project in the area and making improvements to Northeast 36th Street including widening the roadway and installing a traffic signal at Northeast 36th Street and Spectrum Drive, according to city documents. The improvements are expected to be completed by Oct. 31.

Costco expects to have store open by this fall, according to city documents. If the retailer doesn’t receive a certificate of occupancy by Jan. 1, 2023, it will pay penalties.

Last fall, Ankeny’s Plan and Zoning Commission approved a site plan for Costco that includes a 195,000-square-foot facility with a warehouse retail store, tire center and distribution center. The development will also include a free-standing fuel facility.

Development costs are estimated at more than $20 million, according to the infrastructure agreement. Costco expects construction to be completed by the end of October.

Costco is “accustomed to an expedited construction process,” Ankeny City Manager David Jones said. Even with the current issues surrounding the ability to obtain supplies and materials, “they have a history of getting their stores built very efficiently and quickly.”

Costco expects to hire 100 people to work at the store, paying them at least $17 an hour.

The Costco project is one part of the development called Spectrum 36, a 125-acre area that is proposed to include other commercial buildings, multifamily residential and open space.

“Costco is just the tip of the iceberg,” Jones said. “There’s going to be a significant amount of land that will be developed there.”

In a related transaction, Threshold Otter Creek LLC paid JEP Farms Inc. $6 million for 145.9 acres of farm ground south of Northeast 36th Street and east of Northeast 29th Street in Ankeny, records show. Threshold Otter Creek, located in West Des Moines, is the group behind the Spectrum 36 development. The transaction was recorded March 17.

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The real estate transactions from Polk and Dallas counties include information about transactions of $1 million or more including the sale of single-family houses as well as other transactions of interest.