Buc-ee’s meeting tonight!

Fact Sheet – Proposed Commercial Development

A commercial development anchored with a Buc-ee’s Travel Center is proposed on the west side I-35 E, north of Wind River Lane, in south Denton.

For the community’s convenience, two neighborhood meetings will be held on the evening of Wednesday, November 11, 2015, at Homewood Suites, located at 2709 Shoreline Drive, Denton. The first meeting will be held from 6:00-7:00 p.m. and the second will be held from 7:15-8:15 p.m. The purpose of the meetings is to answer questions from property owners near the development. They will be organized in a Question and Answer format, and neighborhood residents are invited to participate by asking questions prior to, or during, the event.

Project Description and Zoning

The approximately 38 acre site is undeveloped and has a zoning designation of Regional Center Commercial Downtown (RCC-D). RCC-D zoning is described as “high density centers of activity including shopping, services, recreation, employment and institutional facilities supported by and serving an entire region.” The proposed Buc-ee’s Travel Center and its associated uses of Retail Sales and Service, Quick Vehicle Servicing, and Drive-through Facility are permitted in RCC-D. Development of the site must comply with all standards outlined in the Denton Development Code, including platting, lot dimensions and coverage, site design, lighting, landscaping, and parking.

Additionally, this area has special “overlay” conditions that were created to protect the surrounding neighborhoods. The overlay conditions were placed on the property in 2008 to address the community’s concerns about potential development. These conditions include:

1. 50-foot buffer of landscaping is required, including the water features (existing pond), abutting the residential developments to the west (Southridge Estates) and to the south (Wind River Estates) with the right to install a walking trail and other complementary hardscape around the existing pond (including the area within the 50-foot buffer) in connection with a pedestrian easement;
2. No building within 100 feet of the residential developments to the west and to the south of the subject Property shall exceed a maximum building height of 40 feet;
3. The owner of the subject Property will not remove the existing pond along the western boundary of the subject Property abutting Southridge Estates;
4. The owner of the subject Property (or its designee) will erect , at its expense, and 8-foot wrought iron fence with finials for the benefit of the homes to the west of the subject property which are directly across from and adjacent to the aforementioned pond.

The proposed Buc-ee’s Travel Center (not a truck stop) is intended to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The development will include a main retail store, fuel sales, a car wash, and approximately 7 pad sites along I-35 E for future development. In addition to the existing pond which will remain, a dry detention pond/landscaped area is planned for the southwest corner of the site to enhance the buffering from the existing residential neighborhoods and push the commercial development toward I-35 E.

Tax incentives are being considered as a part of this development as a partial sales tax rebate. Final details are not yet available, but City Council will be considering the item at an upcoming meeting. Contract details are confidential.

I 35 Improvements

Due to the development of the site for a Buc-ee’s Travel Center, access along I-35 E in south Denton will be improved. TxDOT has approved an additional $28 million in improvements in order to help with traffic and congestion in the area. Three areas along I-35 E are slated for improvements in association with the construction of the Buc-ee’s Travel Center: the intersection at Loop 288/Lillian Miller and I-35 E, Brinker Road and I-35 E, and South Mayhill Road and I-35 E.  Plans for the intersection at Loop 288/Lillian Miller and I-35 E will include four lanes in each direction (two through lanes and two left-turn lanes), U-turns on each side of the intersection, and pedestrian improvements. Mayhill Road and I-35 E will be modified to include a U-turn on the western side of Mayhill Road. Finally, Brinker Road will be extended under I-35 E and include two lanes in each direction, one turn lane, and U-turns.  These improvements are scheduled to be completed in Spring of 2018.

Access to the site will be finalized during platting and with the Building Permit; however, the current proposal shows access from the north near the Goodwill Store and the south from Unicorn Lake Boulevard. A third access point will be obtained from the I-35E improvements, which will extend Brinker Road under the highway directly to the site.