Buc-ee’s is coming to town. Wyandotte residents to weigh in on tax incentives
Residents may soon get a chance to tell the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, what they think about using added sales tax dollars to finance the rodent-logoed, multipurpose gas station and convenience store that’s making its way into KCK.
Unified Government commissioners during their Thursday regular meeting will discuss when to set a public hearing before deciding whether to establish a community improvement district and tax increment financing district that would help pay for Kansas’ first Buc-ee’s. Ahead of the meeting, government staff proposed commissioners approve scheduling a 7 p.m. public hearing on Aug. 7.
The billion-dollar tourist attraction with south Texas roots has been inching north into other states and is on track to start building a new location off Village West Parkway in KCK this year.
Plans to request an estimated combined $13 million in tax incentives from the Unified Government have been in talks for months, dating at least as far back as a November Economic Development and Finance Committee meeting. The community improvement district, which would use a 1% added sales tax on items sold on the Buc-ee’s property over the course of 20 years beginning in July 2026, would work alongside a proposed tax increment financing district. The TIF would use portions of city and county sales tax revenues over 15 years. Those funds would reimburse construction work on local infrastructure, like paving roads and relocating water lines.
The estimated 74,000 square-foot travel center will sit on 25 acres of property near 601 Village West Parkway. Buc-ee’s has pitched building 120 gas pumps and 12 charging stations for electric vehicles on the property.
The project is expected to cost roughly $95 million, according to commission documents. It’ll be financed through a combination of private equity, private debt and the community improvement district dollars.
