Big change is coming to the quiet intersection of I-94 and West Elm Road, which is set to become home to what could be Wisconsin's first
Buc-ee's store.
Sometimes known as the amusement park of gas stations, Buc-ee's
announced in January that it had selected a 30-acre site in Oak Creek, southeast of South 27th Street and West Elm Road, to build a 73,000-square-foot convenience store with 120 gas pumps. It's expected to draw 100,000 visitors per week or 5 million per year, according to Buc-ee's estimates.
Aside from small businesses at or near the intersection of Elm Road and 27th Street, including Ochs Auto Body, Reliable Truck Maintenance and On the Border Gentleman's Club, plus a Waste Management facility, the Elm Road and I-94 interchange is currently surrounded by mostly undeveloped land.
Some think the addition of Buc-ee's could be the catalyst to bring a surge in development to that area.
"One of the first things I'm always looking at is traffic counts and visibility," said
Mike Testa, business development manager and senior brokerage associate at Milwaukee-based real estate firm
Ogden & Co. "Retail is based on symbiotic relationships. A lot of tenants are looking for some sort of anchor that's driving traffic and visibility, like Buc-ee's. I think it will really bring a lot of attention."
Testa thinks strip mall developers, quick-service restaurants or other "stop-in" retailers might see potential development sites in the area as more attractive given the Buc-ee's traffic.
A complicating factor, however, is that Buc-ee's sells a wide array of products, making it a one stop shop. The store planned in Oak Creek will include freshly prepared foods such as bar-b-que, sandwiches, salads and fruits, baked goods and sweets as well as a unique collection of gifts, housewares, clothing and weekend get-away gear, among other consumer items, the company said.
That means bar-b-que restaurants, sandwich shops, gas stations or other places that offer similar products might be inclined to look elsewhere.
[caption id="attachment_607091" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Buc-ee's proposed site in red. Image made using Google My Maps[/caption]
Further, 85% of Buc-ee's visitors come from outside city, county or state lines, according to Buc-ee's, making the development its own “tourist destination," which is not attractive to some retailers.
“You're not going to go to something like a physical therapist because it’s next to Buc-ee's," said
Russ Sagmoen, partner at
Colliers | Wisconsin. "You're going to want that physical therapist close to either your work, your home, maybe your grocery store. ...Buc-ee's just generates a lot of traffic and it's not the targeted traffic we want."
As a result, Sagmoen said he doesn't anticipate the area developing with more retail, at least not as a direct result of Buc-ee's.
"It's kind of a destination stop, and then you're not really going anywhere," he said.
In DeForest, village works to expand road for Buc-ee's-induced development
The City of Oak Creek declined to comment on its vision for this portion of the city, which borders Caledonia, and referred to its 2020 Comprehensive Plan.
That plan had envisioned the Elm Road interchange being developed as a business park, but applied a "flex overlay" to the parcels to consider other uses.
"This area is currently agricultural land, but will face redevelopment pressure due to the programmed Elm Road and I-94 interchange," the plan says. "The city should encourage this area to be redeveloped as a business park, but should also be open to other uses, such as light industrial or commercial."
Before Buc-ee's announced its plans for a store in Oak Creek, it had begun preparation to build a store in DeForest, which is north of Madison.
That project has been delayed primarily because Buc-ee's requested upgrades to a nearby interchange to accommodate its traffic, and the village has been trying to secure funding for the project from the state's Department of Transportation. In its requests for funding, the village also anticipates the Buc-ee's will bring more development to that area, furthering the need for an improved interchange.
“We believe that Buc-ee’s track record of success for attracting complementary businesses will further increase traffic demands and the existing businesses," DeForest village administrator Bill Chang wrote in a 2023 letter to the DOT.
Gov. Tony Evers' newly proposed 2025-27 state budget includes $6 million from the DOT to fund the project, though the budget will be heavily amended during the budget process with the legislature.
Buc-ee's secured its first of many approvals from the City of Oak Creek in January and is anticipated to be up for its final approval in June, according to city documents, which sets the stage for an early 2027 opening.
