From the Ground Up: Buc-ee’s No. 62

Owner: Buc-ee’s Springfield LLC
General contractor: BerryHutton Construction (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
Architect: LA Architects LLC (Houston, Texas)
Engineers: Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. (Bentonville, Arkansas), civil; would not disclose structural and mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Size: 53,000 square feet
Cost: $56 million
Lender: Would not disclose
Estimated completion: Late fall
Project description: Buc-ee’s No. 62, the first location for the mammoth Texas convenience center in the state of Missouri, is taking shape on the north side of Interstate 44 at its intersection with Beaver Road – the former Mulroy Road, renamed at the request of Buc-ee’s to help travelers find the store. It’s designed with 100 fueling pumps and a 53,000-square-foot travel center. At the August 2022 groundbreaking, Mayor Ken McClure praised the collaborative spirit that is bringing $9.1 million in infrastructure improvements to the city through a tax reimbursement agreement and a community improvement district for the company. Arch “Beaver” Aplin, the company’s founder, noted at the time, “It’s one of the unofficial things, just kind of a box that I mentally check when we look at locations. … It’s not that much fun to swim upstream and fight your way all the way, and so we very much appreciate the fact that y’all want us in your community.” He added that Buc-ee’s uses the same construction team for most of its projects, though he did not name the companies involved. The information on design professionals for the project was provided by city Economic Vitality staff, representatives from Kimley-Horn and local earthwork contractor Emery Sapp & Sons Inc. Aside from providing the expected completion date, Buc-ee’s officials denied requests for information.