Costco Wholesale Corp. has submitted pre-application documents to San Rafael to build a store, tire center and gas station at the Northgate mall in Terra Linda.

The documents, which provide basic layout and conceptual designs, confirmed earlier speculation that the Washington-based company intends to open a second location in Marin County — a prospect that is receiving mixed views.

Stephen Logan, vice president of mall owner Merlone Geier Partners, called the early plans the “first step in a long-term process to reimagine Northgate into what we have heard from the community — to create a vibrant town center.”

“Our goal has been to find that cornerstone retailer that will jumpstart our long-term vision for the center,” Logan said. “Of everyone we have talked to, Costco is the ideal fit. With a retailer of this caliber, there is already growing interest among other highly desired retail tenants and restaurants in coming to Northgate.”

Unlike the Novato Costco, conceptual drawings for the San Rafael Costco show a more modern architectural design with landscaping, outdoor patios, moving inclined walkways known as travelators and a parking structure of up to three levels. Costco would replace the old Sears building at the south end of the mall.

The building would encompass about 152,400 square feet on the 7.5-acre property, according to the documents. The tallest part of the building would be about 58 feet. For parking, the documents show there would be 662 spaces and up to 971 spaces if a third parking level is added.

A tire center would be located on the southern end of the property near Northgate Drive, with a six-lane gas station abutting the building’s eastern side, the documents show.

Bringing Costco to the Northgate mall would provide several benefits, said Robert Eyler, chief economist of the Marin Economic Forum. The construction phase could likely lead to more local jobs, he said, with the city possibly being able to negotiate with Costco to hire a certain percentage of local employees during the buildout. Once completed, the new Costco would also bring more foot traffic to other retailers.

“That could start some relatively synergistic effects on sales tax revenues,” said Eyler, an economics professor at Sonoma State University. “That would be a positive for the city. … If you’re a retailer in the Northgate mall you’ve got to be looking at this as a good thing.”

Mark McAlonan, owner of Cains Tire in downtown San Rafael, said he would prefer not to have a Costco Tire Center open 4 miles from his business. But he said his shop will continue to do what it has been doing since the 1980s, when a Costco opened in Richmond.

“We will beat their price,” McAlonan said.