Plans to bring North Florida’s first Buc-ee’s to the region are advancing as the mega convenience store chain has shared the first glimpse of what’s to come.
Last year, the Tallahassee Democrat first broke the news that the Texas-based chain was eyeing approximately 30 acres at the southeast corner of the Park Place Planned Unit Development (PUD) and west of Capital Circle Northwest, immediately north of Interstate 10.
The chain, under the name Buc-ee’s Tallahassee LLC, purchased the land late last year.
Now, for the first time, the company has revealed plans to open in 2027 and its site plan that is undergoing Leon County’s permit review process. It plans to build a 74,000 square-foot travel center that will be the largest commercial development on Tallahassee’s northwest side in recent memory.
“The travel center building will include predominantly retail use with accessory fast-food service (no drive-thru),” documents said. “In addition to the travel center building, the proposed site plan includes 120 fueling positions, 8 DEF positions, 807 standard parking spaces, 24 EV parking spaces and 11 bus/RV parking spaces. Parking will be located on all sides of the building with fueling positions located at the rear (west) of the building.”
Documents also indicate Buc-ee’s plans to built two on-site stormwater facilities, along with infrastructure for a sewer and force main. Another addition not previously known is Buc-ee’s desire to build “a new lift station in the northwest corner of the proposed site plan that will serve this project as well as future development within the PUD.”
In a previous Democrat article, County Commission Chairman Christian Caban said the mega gas station project would be “a huge economic opportunity for our community” considering it was slated to generate nearly 200 jobs. Salaries will range from $16 to $32 per hour with six salaries estimated over $100,000.
Caban said the site plan is an exciting step toward seeing this project advance.
“The submission of the site plan is an important step in the process,” said Caban, in a text to the Democrat. “There is still work ahead but this moves us closer to bringing good-paying jobs and meaningful economic development to this part of Leon County.”
He went on to say he’s encouraged by the collaboration between the county staff and the company’s team, adding “we look forward to sharing some more updates as the process continues.”
County Commissioner Rick Minor, who represents District 3 where the site is proposed to be built, also hailed the site plan as an important step. And that it will shed light on the company’s plans, including traffic mitigation.
Study says 90% of traffic will come from interstate
A 355-page traffic study was submitted as part of the site plan. It reviewed several traffic intersections during peak morning and afternoon hours during the weekdays and weekend.
The intersections included the following:
Capital Circle Northwest and Buc-ee’s Boulevard (planned signalized)
Capital Circle Northwest and Gearhart Road (existing full access, future right-in / right-out)
I-10 Eastbound and Capital Circle Northwest (signalized)
I-10 Westbound and Capital Circle Northwest (signalized)
“The trip characteristics of the proposed site is predominately interstate-driven traffic. The surrogate sites throughout the United States have a reported 90-95% traffic demand to and from the interstate,” the study said. “For the proposed travel center, approximately 90% of trips are anticipated to be trips diverted from I-10 and the remaining 10% are anticipated to be net new trips from the local surrounding area.”
The study also includes traffic crash reports spanning a five-year period, from March 2020 to March 2025, for Capital Circle Northwest at Gearhart Road using the the University of Florida’s Signal Four Analytics database.
There were a total of 32 crashes reported at the location, which included 16 (50%) crashed that occurred “due to intersection-related movements” and 12 crashes (38%) were due to a westbound left-turn movement conflicting with a northbound or southbound through movement. There was one fatality that occurred in April 2024.
The highly anticipated project has sparked hundreds of comments and shares on social media as residents have eagerly waited to hear details drop. Minor said the vast majority of feedback he’s heard from residents has been positive.
“They want to know more about how traffic will work in that area on Capital Circle Northwest,” Minor said. “But, that’s what this step is all about. It’s to get those details and share those with the public. And then we’ll have a discussion about how to go.”
More details shared in the proposed Buc-ee’s site plan
The cover page of the Buc-ee’s site development plan for the Leon County mega-convenience store.
Here are a few other nuggets straight from the site plan:
Access: The applicant is proposing to utilize the previously approved Capital Circle Northwest access as shown in the approved PUD documents. An internal road will be constructed with direct access to the proposed travel center through a centrally located roundabout. Two access points are proposed from the internal roadway on the north (side) and on the west (rear) of the site. There will be no direct access to the travel center from Capital Circle Northwest.
Trees: An arborist assessment and map are included in the submittal. The arborist assessment concludes that there are no candidates for patriarch status. The report also assesses the trees that may be removed without any assignment of debits.
Refuse: A refuse collection area has been identified on the plans including compactors. The area has been screened physically by the principal structure.
Pedestrian Connectivity: There is a sidewalk connection at the right-of-way line east of the property for a future sidewalk connection. There is safe and efficient sidewalk and ADA connectivity throughout the site between the building entrances and parking areas.
Landscape Buffer: There are a 20-foot-wide front perimeter landscape buffers between the off-street parking and property lines that abut I-10 and Capital Circle Northwest. Parking A parking study is included in the submittal. The parking study takes into consideration the parking demand, parking flexibility and minimization of impact.
Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Buc-ee’s files site plan for new Tallahassee store