SEI Pulls Double Duty With Two Costco Openings

Let’s just say that Brian Donnellan has been a busy man in 2025. Because during a three-month period, he and his teams have opened not just one, but two Costcos. Alternating his time between the Stuart, Florida, and Midland, Texas construction sites have kept Brian on the go.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Brian said. “I like to be busy. But I’m really grateful for the teams we have on site. Because of everyone’s hard work and focus, we were able to keep things moving and on schedule.” And, under Brian’s leadership, SEI crews were able to overcome significant challenges.

The Stuart Costco, located on Florida’s Atlantic coast, presented unique obstacles. According to Brian, “Because this warehouse was less than two miles from the ocean, the water table was only four feet below ground surface. That in turn, made deeper foundations tricky around the loading docks and especially at the 18-foot deep underground fuel tanks at the gas station.”

What’s more, as part of a larger site under construction, SEI crews had to coordinate with the developer when it came to paving and tying in with the rest of the facility. However, nothing stopped SEI from meeting the grand opening deadline of April 25 for the 162,660 sf warehouse fuel station.

Meanwhile, almost 1400 miles to the northwest in Midland, Texas, Brian and his teams faced completely different obstacles to meet a July 10 ribbon-cutting.

“To begin, ground conditions in Midland required a lot of extra work,” Brian offered. “We encountered a large amount of solid rock that required extensive hammering to perform the site prep.”

And that was just the beginning. Due to the Midland area’s considerable water shortages during construction, the schedule for fire sprinkler installation had to be adjusted to a later than normal time. Further, Midland’s notorious winds created dust storms that, in turn, slowed progress, especially when ensuring a weather-tight facility.

At the same time, the site had other interesting twists, including an onsite detention pond and accommodating three separate. Because the site was on a newly developed parcel of land, a new street needed to be constructed, with the work being divided between SEI and the City of Midland.

However, SEI kept the largest Costco in Texas on schedule, despite all the curveballs. As a result, the 182,188 sf warehouse, complete with a fuel station, opened on time.

So, with two big projects finished in a little over three months, is Brian ready to relax? He laughs at the question, “Oh, no. When it comes to supporting Costco, our work is never done.”