OAKLAND — A Costco warehouse store could sprout on a chunk of land at a former Army base in West Oakland now that a developer has been picked to potentially make the retail proposal a reality.

With a site at 2008 Wake Ave., the store could bring jobs and create more retailing opportunities for shoppers in the region. For years, efforts have emerged on an on-and-off basis to develop a Costco in this part of Oakland.

“We’re thrilled to help bring a major grocery retailer to West Oakland,” said Travis Duncan, a vice president for Deca Companies, the real estate company with an inside track to develop a Costco at the site. “This project sends a clear message. Oakland is open for business.”

The Oakland City Council recently authorized the city administrator to negotiate the terms of an exclusive negotiating agreement with Deca Companies to pursue the development.

“For too long, our West Oakland community has lacked access to essential services, often forcing residents to leave Oakland to find quality options, including groceries,” Councilmember Carroll Fife said.West Oakland residents “have endured generations of disinvestment and neglect,” Fife added.

The exclusive negotiating agreement is deemed to be a crucial early step ahead of the actual development of a new Costco. The city owns the site.

Deca Companies has extensive experience in wide-ranging revamps of tricky properties.

The company was picked to modernize the historic Cow Palace site in Daly City. Deca is also trying to redevelop the Phillips 66 refinery at the Port of Los Angeles into a mixed-use project.

A Costco Wholesale store could be a big success in West Oakland, said Tony Beatty, a JLL commercial real estate broker who helps Costco find store sites in the Bay Area.

The potential development would bring hundreds of jobs with competitive wages to West Oakland while generating substantial annual tax revenue for the East Bay’s largest city.

“Existing Costco locations in the Bay Area perform very well,” Beatty said. “We have been looking at potential expansion opportunities where they can best serve their members.”