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Wisconsin grant helps new Kwik Trip facility near Buc-ee’s project

Umito October 29, 2024

A $1.5 million state grant will help fund roadwork to serve a new Kwik Trip distribution center in DeForest — where rival convenience store operator Buc-ee’s request for state funds remains at a standstill.

The grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will help widen roads on the west side of the village and support 398 jobs related to the Kwik Trip facility, according to the announcement.

This will be Kwik Trip’s second distribution center in Wisconsin and will include a truck maintenance facility. The other distribution center is in La Crosse, where the company is based.

“This investment will not only benefit Dane County and surrounding communities, but it will also help generate jobs, generate revenue that will support our statewide economy and benefit communities across the state.” , said Governor Tony Evers, in a press release released Monday. The grant comes from WisDOT’s Transportation Economic Assistance Program. It provides funding to communities to support transportation improvements, which helps attract new employers or encourage existing employers to expand. “The Village of DeForest is grateful for our partnership with WisDOT to provide critical support to one of Wisconsin’s most beloved businesses – Kwik Trip,” said Jane Cahill Wolfgram, Village of DeForest President.

“Kwik Trip’s new distribution center and employment campus will create valuable jobs in the region and spur economic development, some of the key goals of the TEA grant program,” Wolfgram said in a statement.

Buc-ee’s plans on hold until after election

Meanwhile, the Journal Sentinel recently reported that Texas-based convenience store Buc-ee’s plans to expand into Wisconsin have been stalled until after the November election.

Buc-ee’s wants to build a 74,000-square-foot convenience store/gas station in DeForest – one of the largest operations of its kind in the world.

This plan includes $15 million upgrade at an Interstate 39/90/94 interchange to prevent traffic from backing up onto the highway.

Buc-ee’s said it would pay up to $8.1 million, leaving local officials to figure out how to cover the nearly $7 million costs.

Village officials are waiting to see who will win local and state government seats, including Dane County Executive and state Assembly and Senate seats, in the Nov. 5 election .

“We anticipate that we will need some political assistance for the interchange project,” Village Administrator Bill Chang told the Journal Sentinel.

“I hate to make it about the election, but we’re just waiting to see who’s going to help us because we certainly can’t do it ourselves, and we know the impacts are huge,” Chang said.

The entire Buc-ee’s project is estimated to cost $50 million, Chang said. The store is expected to generate $1 million a year in sales tax revenue and create between 200 and 225 jobs, he said.

The DeForest Buc-ee’s will be Wisconsin’s first Buc-ee’s and by far the most northerly. THE nearest locations are in Kentucky and Missouri.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at [email protected] and follow-up Instagram, X And Facebook.