When will Buc-ee’s be built on the MS Coast? Here’s the latest from county developer
Everybody has incentives to offer companies, said Bill Lavers, executive director of Harrison County Development Commission, so he took a different approach when he first met with officials from Buc-ee’s travel centers.
“They came for their first visit in October,” Lavers said at a virtual report Friday for Gulfport Connections, an event presented by the Gulfport Chamber.
Lavers said he drove to a Buc-ee’s location out of state, bought several of their products and welcomed them with a display of Beaver Nuggets — Buc-ee’s trademark snack — jerky and other specialties.
“They’ve never had a spread like that presented to them in any of the places they bid,” he said, “and they really appreciated it — sent the pictures back to the CEO.”
Asked when Buc-ee’s will open at the Menge Avenue of I-10, Lavers said, “Not soon enough.” He’d never tasted the Beaver Nuggets before that first meeting, Lavers said, and he’s developed a craving for the salty-sweet corn snacks.
It will take about two years before the exit is improved and the first Buc-ee’s in Mississippi is built and opens, he said.
Lavers said he hopes residents of neighboring Hancock County will drive to the store in Harrison County when it opens instead of going out of state to Slidell.
The next two steps are: Buc-ees’s is expected to close on the sale of the property in November, he said, and Mississippi Department of Transportation is reviewing the plans for $15 million in improvements at the Menge Avenue exit north of Pass Christian.
“Significant improvements will be made to that interchange. It’ll go to five lanes from two lanes,” he said. The lanes will be widened in each direction to handle the 5 million new visitors to Coastal Mississippi this project will produce,” he said.
Hopefully Buc-ee’s will attract other retail and shopping to locate at the exit to help that side of the county grow, he said.
The state and county provided tax incentives to encourage Buc-ee’s to choose the site at Menge Avenue.
A tax increment bond from Harrison County, estimated at $15 million when it is finalized, will help the developer recoup some of the cost of infrastructure. A TIF bond is repaid by the sales tax generated by the development.
A special use tax was approved by the state Legislature for only the second time, he said. It keeps the sales tax local instead of sending it to the state. For the Buc-ee’s project it is estimated at about $300,000 a year, he said, based on sales.
Other developments in Harrison County
Lavers provided details of big projects already announced this year and he’s working on a third.
▪ Ocean Aero moving its corporate headquarters to Gulfport from California was a huge announcement, he said, and an agreement five years in the making.
The company that makes ocean drones chose South Mississippi because of the relationship with University of Southern Mississippi and the Port of Gulfport, he said, and also because of the lower cost of living and doing business.
About 45 staff members will be relocating to the Coast, he said, and because Ocean Aero is coming to the Coast, he said another company also is looking to move to South Mississippi.
▪ The 8-mile freight train service to the Bernard Bayou Industrial District in Gulfport is being restored, Lavers said.
It will begin operation as the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad and bring rail service to the businesses along Seaway Road.
About 35 rail cars are coming next week, he said, and it will help make up for the shortage of truck drivers to deliver products. One rail car equals four to five truckloads, he said, and this rail service allows companies to buy in bulk and increase volume inbound and out.
This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 2:52 PM.
