The Future of the First Buc-ee’s in Wisconsin is Uncertain

Excitement permeated in Wisconsin and beyond in early 2023 when news of a Buc-ee's convenience store and gas station was revealed to be making its debut in the Cheese State. The store was planned to be located in DeForest, between Madison and Wisconsin Dells, just north of Highway V, east of Highway I, and west of Interstate 39/90/94.

Well, those plans appear to be put on hold due to a split-cost discrepancy between the gas station titan and the taxpayers. It's a dispute that costs north of $15 million, and there seems to be no easy solution in sight that would lead to construction commencing.

The DeForest Buc-ee's is conceived as a 73,400-square-foot establishment that, like most locations, would have over 100+ fueling stations under two canopies, roughly 613 parking spaces, and 20 charging stations for electric vehicles, per the original proposal. Buc-ee's also prides themselves on having "the world's cleanest restrooms," although they do not accommodate truckers and don't have a restaurant in-house, surprisingly.

Buc-ee's is offering to spend up to $8.1 million to build a new interchange on Interstate 39/90/94 in DeForest, which is located in northern Dane County, per The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The remaining cost would be footed by the taxpayers. This isn't sitting well with the Village of DeForest for obvious reasons.

The convenience metropolis is expected to substantially increase traffic in the area, which explains the need for an interchange. However, DeForest Village Administrator Bill Chang said that the funding proposal was "a challenging number" for the village, which is presently exploring funding through means like a tax improvement district, per The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Chang added that the Buc-ee's site is outside any current tax incremental financing district in the village. Couple that with the fact that DeForest is handicapped by a state law that limits the ability to grow a current tax incremental financing district (or create a new one) to include the Buc-ee's site, and you can see why funding the remainder of the $15 million project is a challenge for the small community.

These negotiations will delay the start of construction, which was supposed to begin this summer.

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Buc-ee's locations include everything from a bakery, fudge bar, kolaches, brisket, an extensive variety of sodas, coffees, and Icees, and even Dippin' Dots ice cream. They have their own brand of merchandise as well, ranging from shirts, hats, pants, blankets, and their own assortment of snack food.

Furthermore, Buc-ee's famously doesn't open locations in large metropolitan areas. Instead, they focus on heavy-traffic areas such as interstates that exist outside of those big cities. For example, one of their locations is positioned on Interstate 10, right between Houston and San Antonio, courting people traveling to/from either respective city.

READ MORE ABOUT THE FIRST-EVER BUC-EE'S IN THE MIDWEST, LOCATED IN SPRINGFIELD, MO.