Will Buc-ee’s bring ‘a huge growth spurt’? Here are the incentives Warner Robins is offering.

Texas-iconic Buc-ee’s expects to invest at least $35 million to build its planned 53,000-square-foot travel center off Russell Parkway near Interstate 75 in Warner Robins, according to a city document.

“I think we’re going to see a huge growth spurt out in that area,” said Warner Robins Mayor Randy Toms. “I think there’s going to be a lot of businesses, possibly hotels, restaurants, that want to be in the area because of the number of people that are being brought off the interstate every day.”

Buc-ee’s expects to draw 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles off I-75 a week, with Toms hopeful that those motorists will do more than fill up with gas at one of the travel center’s planned 116 fueling stations.

Toms said he expects those drivers will “come in and see what else Warner Robins has to offer” such as the Museum of Aviation.

Located at the other end of Russell Parkway at GA. 247, the museum is billed as the second largest U.S. Air Force museum and the fourth most-visited museum in the U.S. Department of Defense.

In exchange for Buc-ee’s investment, the city and Peach County are expected to fund up to $2.285 million for public traffic and utility improvements, according to a memorandum of understanding among the governments and the company now under review. The $2.285 million is a preliminary cost estimate. Toms said he thinks the cost may be half of that when it’s all said and done.

“The economic impact it’s going to bring is worth whatever we can bring to the table,” Toms said.

The 22-acre site is located on the south side of Russell Parkway in Peach County on property annexed by Warner Robins, which is in Houston County.

Peach County has pledged $400,000 for its share of the project, said Peach County Commission Chairman Martin Moseley. He’s waiting on a review of the memorandum by county attorneys before signing it.

“We’re thrilled to have Buc-ee’s and they’re ... going to be beneficial financially I think for our county,” Moseley said. “I think .. they’re going to be just a great citizen and a great-job producer — high-paying jobs.

“I think it’s just an all around win for everybody,” he said.

Between 175 — the minimum outlined in the memorandum — to 225 jobs are expected at the Warner Robins location, the first in Georgia, said Buc-ee’s spokesman Jeff Nadalo.

The hourly pay has not been determined yet, but typically ranges between $13 to $16 an hour, Nadalo said.

“We offer a lot of things that typical hourly level jobs don’t, such as paid vacation, 401K, medical, dental and the range of additional ancillary benefits,” Nadalo said.

While cities in other states have dangled tax incentives to attract a Buc-ee’s, that is not the case in Warner Robins, said Toms, Moseley and state Rep. Robert Dickey, R-Musella. The three elected officials are among those who’ve been instrumental in bringing the project together after approached by a real estate broker months ago. Toms is the point man.

“Buc-ee’s did not ask for any concessions,” Dickey said. “They are not getting any property tax abatements or anything. Peach County and Warner Robins will help with some road work entrance into the facility.”

No other incentives are being sought by Buc-ee’s at this point other than the public traffic and utility improvements, Nadalo said. The cost estimates for those improvements are outlined in an attachment to the memorandum.

“That is sort of the deal we’ve got is what you see there,” Nadalo said. “Obviously, our stores require a lot of road work because of the high traffic that the stores generate.”

Revenue projections from expected property, sales and fuel taxes as well as from utility sales from Buc-ee’s have yet to be developed, officials said.

But based on the size and scope of Buc-ee’s, the numbers are expected to be significant, Toms said.

Fort Valley had utility rights to the property, but agreed to relinquish them to Warner Robins in exchange for half of the property tax revenues generated by Buc-ee’s that normally would be allocated to Warner Robins city coffers over a 30-year period, Toms said.

The city also is purchasing water wholesale from Houston County that it will in turn sell at a retail price to Buc-ee’s, Toms said. Additionally, the city is extending a main sewer line at a projected cost of up to $450,000 for Buc-ee’s to connect to, said the city’s Utilities Director Montie Walters.

The city expects to extend Vietnam Veterans Memorial Parkway across Russell Parkway for the Buc-ee’s property. The parkway runs parallel to the interstate.

The city already was planning to extend the road for a planned city Visitors Information Center and Vietnam Veterans Memorial on 3 acres previously donated to the city, Toms said. But the project needed a large-scale development like Buc-ee’s to move forward, he said.

The long-range plan is to extend Vietnam Veterans Memorial Parkway to Lakeview Road and then on to Ga. 96. The information center and Vietnam Veterans memorial would be across the extended parkway across from the Buc-ee’s location.

The memorandum notes the possibility of using revenues from a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax to help offset the cost. Also, the Georgia Department of Transportation may be asked to help offset the project, Toms said.

Buc-ee’s already has submitted a permit request to GDOT for additional lanes off I-75 to accommodate increased traffic. But no funds have been requested at this time, said Penny Brooks, GDOT spokesperson.

The travel center is expected to open in early 2021.

This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 5:30 AM.