St. Lucie leader expects Buc-ee's to submit site plan next week for a Fort Pierce location
ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A county leader expects mega-travel center chain Buc-ee's to submit a site plan next week for a new location near Fort Pierce.
That news, first posted on the campaign Facebook page for County Commission Chair Cathy Townsend, comes five months after TC Palm first reported that the Texas-based company with a cult following had submitted a conceptual site plan and held a pre-application meeting with the county.
Ready to submit a plan
"As of yesterday they were in conversation with staff and ready to submit their site plan next week," Townsend said on Facebook.
Townsend said she was correcting "a bad rumor" posted on another Facebook page that said Buc-ee's would not be coming.
Details from conceptual plan
Though details may change, some proposals were revealed in the conceptual plan.
The conceptual plan, submitted by Buc-ee's last year under the names "Buc-ee’s — Fort Pierce, FL" and "Buc-ee’s, Ltd," listed a location southeast of the Interstate 95 Indrio Road interchange. That property, and an adjacent lot, has been owned by "Indrio & I95 Development LLC" since 2017, according to county property records.
The conceptual plan included a drawing that showed 73,000 square feet of retail space, 733 parking stalls, 11 bus parking stalls, 120 fueling positions and 20 EV charging stations.
Process after proposal
A site-plan submission would bring to light the most detailed look yet at Buc-ee's plans.
"We are looking forward to their arrival," Townsend said.
Townsend later clarified via email that she is looking forward to the arrival of documents associated with a site-plan submission. The company itself will still face a number of hurdles before it could break ground.
If a formal site plan is submitted by Buc-ee's, the county's internal Development Review Committee would review it first. Then that committee — representing the county Environmental Resources, Planning and Public Works staffs — would give feedback which the developer can use to alter its proposal. A formal update can be submitted before it reaches the Planning and Zoning Board. That board makes a recommendation to the County Commission, which has the final say.
Other steps could be necessary, depending on the need for changes to zoning or land-use designations.
Early conversations have taken place
Though no formal plan has been submitted, Townsend indicated that conversations about Buc-ee's have been ongoing among county staff and staff from the St. Lucie County school and fire districts, as a plan is being developed.
"There has been conversations with the fire department and School Board as well," Townsend said.
Spokespeople for the fire district and school district later confirmed those talks.
More: What is the process for St. Lucie County developments like Buc-ee's to get approved, built?
More: What could a Treasure Coast Buc-ee's mean for the local economy, jobs and the way of life?
No timetable, yet
County spokesperson Erick Gill, however, said no direct talks have taken place between county planning staff and Buc-ee's representatives. According to Gill, conversations have focused on potentially relocating a school and fire station planned for the area to a different location nearby.
No timetable for public meetings is possible, Gill said, until an application is submitted by the company.
A growing presence
The chain has grown across the Southeastern United States in recent years, and currently operates nearly 50 locations across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
Buc-ee's already has two locations in Florida on the I-95 corridor, one in Daytona Beach and one in St. Augustine. Another is in the works in Ocala, off Interstate 75. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the location in July, and Marion County commissioners approved rezoning for the project earlier this month, according to the Ocala StarBanner.
Wicker Perlis is TCPalm's Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com and 504-331-0516.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Buc-ee's back in the news as St. Lucie County waits for new site plan
