A massive new Costco just opened in Toronto

Retail giant Costco Wholesale (Costco) officially opened its new location in Toronto's Rexdale neighbourhood, marking its 21st location in the Greater Toronto Area.

The sprawling new 164,162-square-foot location at 2260 Islington Avenue, just north of Highway 401 — reported on by blogTO back in September — opened its doors to the public on Thursday morning.

Costco's newest location brings its wholesale offerings to northwest Toronto, including over 3,800 products such as Kirkland house-brand staples and those famously cheap rotisserie chickens and hot dogs — all sold at reduced prices to attract shoppers into the sprawling maze-like warehouses.

Other features include an on-site bakery, a fresh meat department, a large produce area, an optical centre with an on-site optometrist, a hearing aid centre, five tire centre bays, an expansive food court, a pharmacy, and a gas station with 24 pumps.

A combination of extra-wide aisles, a dozen registers and an additional self-checkout section with nine stations will keep the flow of customers and approximately 1,200 shopping carts moving.

Corresponding with that massive number of shopping carts on-premises, the new Costco is served by a gargantuan underground parking garage with a capacity for 1,200 vehicles.

Underground parking with elevator access at this location marks a first for Costco warehouses in Eastern Canada, which have traditionally sat amid wide expanses of surface parking.

The members-only wholesale brand's latest expansion in the Toronto market is also a boon for local employment in the Rexdale neighbourhood, providing 135 new full-time jobs and 100 new seasonal jobs for the area.

Toronto's newest Costco location marks the 107th warehouse from the brand in Canada and the 861st worldwide.