Costco's first Queensland store to open soon with up to 350 staff A woman pushes a shopping trolley outside a New Jersey, US, Costco. Queensland customers will soon be doing the same. Picture: Ron Antonelli/Bloomberg Source: Supplied BULK shopping retailer Costco Australia has named mid-May for the opening of its first Queensland store. Costco Australia managing director Patrick Noone saidthe firm had opened its hiring office in Queensland several weeks ago and had started a major recruitment drive. We've had a few thousand applications for positions. We're looking at a mid-May opening," he said. We will have between 325 to 350 staff upon opening. But we may add some if it's really busy. Mr Noone said the cost of opening the North Lakes warehousewould come in just under $50 million. "The site itself is half finished," he said. The concrete floor has been put down. We're starting to fit out the refrigeration side. The petrol tanks are all on the ground now. We're about to start building the overhead canopy. Costco, which operates as a member-only shopping facility, has already startedsigning up Queenslanders. "We have a lot of optimism about the Brisbane market," Mr Noone said. It's still a growing market for population. The North Lakes area itself seems to be growing pretty well with new housing and new developments. An American firm, Costco opened its first Australian warehouse at Docklands in Victoria in August 2009.