It's rare to see Ashevillians get this excited for a large national chain potentially coming to our area, but this is different — this is Costco.

The brand has prompted years of speculation, dozens of questions in our inbox, hundreds of miles traveled across state lines, and even a 600+ member Facebook page — We Want Costco in Western North Carolina.

We'll get to why our community is so passionate about the members-only chain (psst: It's not just the $1.50 hot dog + soda combo), but first, the news:

Development plans submitted to the city show a proposed Costco location at Enka Heritage Parkway. The project will go before the city's technical review committee, planning and zoning commission, and city council before being approved.

City Councilmember Kim Roney shared a post about the proposed development on social media, encouraging folks to share their thoughts with the full Council at ashevilleNCcouncil@ashevilleNC.gov.

Why the Costco hype?

Jim Galante is a founding member of the We Want Costco in Western North Carolina Facebook page, which was created nearly a year ago, "mainly to see how much interest there would be in having a Costco in the area," Galante told AVLtoday.

Galante said that since the news broke, the page has already had 100 new members.

We asked our social media followers for feedback regarding the news. Several people cited not wanting to drive to Greenville or Spartanburg, SC, to shop the discounted prices. Others mentioned a desire to keep their spending power in WNC, along with more job opportunities.

Speaking of jobs, Costco just announced pay increases — up to $32 an hour — for its clerks.

While the response has overwhelmingly been supportive, other readers have shared concerns about increased traffic to the area and not wanting to get their hopes up after navigating years of similar rumors.

Send us your thoughts as we continue to follow along with this developing story.