Carol Ann Spagnuolo used to carpool with friends once a month to shop at the Costco in Lantana, a 30-minute drive and the closest one to her Isles of Wellington home.

But as of Friday, the drive will take her a mere 10 minutes.

The wholesale warehouse is opening a new store in Royal Palm Beach.

“We’re thrilled that Costco is going to be down the street. It has the best holiday merchandise, meat and vegetable selection and the best bakery. We’ll go weekly,” said Spagnuolo, a mother of three who also shops at BJ’s Wholesale Club, a competitor in the same vicinity.

At 144,000 square feet, Costco’s newest South Florida big-box store, at 3250 North Lake Blvd., will be the fourth and largest Costco in Palm Beach County, according to Alex Polo, general manager of the new warehouse.

As the anchor in the Southern Palm Crossing shopping center, it takes up the majority of the commercial space in the 348,195-square-foot shopping plaza.

Added architectural features will break up the big-box look, according to Bradford O’Brien, senior planner for Royal Palm Beach.

“We have architectural design standards that work to break up the facade of the shopping center, and we’ve added water retention lakes with water features,” O’Brien said.

The shopping center is expected to serve about 150,000 customers from Royal Palm Beach and the surrounding communities, including Wellington, Belle Glade, Clewiston and fringes of West Palm Beach, according to Polo.

The shopping center has 1,767 parking spaces to accommodate customers patronizing Costco and the other stores, including Marshalls, Outback Steakhouse, Stein Mart, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, HomeGoods, and Bank Atlantic.

Of the 53-acre parcel, 62 percent is commercial space, 22 percent is sidewalks and parking, and 14 percent is landscaping, according to O’Brien.

Dellie Rosen, who lives close to Wellington, said she used to make monthly trips with her husband, David, to the Costco in Lantana to buy paper products, vegetables, drinks, and rotisserie chicken.

“It is very congested there, and you have to stop and wait to park, so we wind up parking a block away and walking. I find the store is very congested,” she said. “I was in that new center and there seemed to be enough parking. It would take only 10 minutes from my home, so the convenience factor is there. I’m really going to enjoy it.”

Costco is a nationwide wholesale club with merchandise ranging from food to flowers, computer software to books, and clothing to patio furniture. Polo said the new warehouse wasn’t quite fully staffed with its 170 employees but said the $11 per hour starting wage should attract new workers.

And as for attracting new customers, this warehouse will have a gas station where prices for gas can be as much as 10 cents below other stations in the area for members. The warehouse also will have a tire center, photo shop, optics and hearing aid centers and a pharmacy, according to Polo.

“Half of the people that shop at Costco are more interested in the treasure-hunt atmosphere. One-third of our items typically change on a weekly basis,” Polo said.

Memberships run $50 annually for residents, $50 a year for businesses, and $100 a year for executive memberships that give 2 percent cash back.

Store hours will be 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.