Florida’s planned Buc-ee’s near Fort Pierce has reached an important new milestone: St. Lucie County officials say the project has cleared its local hurdles. That is meaningful new progress since our last update on Florida’s next Buc-ee’s locations, but it does not mean construction can begin yet.
The travel center is planned near Interstate 95 and Indrio Road, northwest of Fort Pierce in St. Lucie County. Local planning officials said in early October that the county-level process is essentially complete, shifting attention to remaining approvals from state agencies.
State approvals are now the big hurdle
The most important distinction is that “local hurdles cleared” is not the same thing as final approval to build. According to NewsRadio WFLA’s October 1 report, Buc-ee’s is still awaiting final approval from the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection before construction can begin.
That makes this a concrete step forward, but not a groundbreaking announcement. No firm construction-start date has been announced.
The project has been working through approvals for years. Buc-ee’s bought roughly 46 acres near the interchange in 2024, and county commissioners later approved zoning changes connected with the development. Plans have continued through site-plan and permitting reviews since then.
The proposed store would be one of Buc-ee’s biggest
Planning documents have described a store of roughly 76,000 square feet, with 120 fueling positions, 18 electric-vehicle charging spaces and more than 700 parking spaces. Those numbers help explain why the approval process involves more than a routine convenience-store permit.
One detail worth treating carefully is the store’s size ranking. Earlier reports suggested the Florida location could become the world’s largest Buc-ee’s, but the company later pushed back on that claim, explaining that planning departments can measure building size differently. Buc-ee’s says its Luling, Texas, location remains its largest.
The opening timeline has moved as the approval process has stretched out. Current local reporting points to 2028 as the target, but Buc-ee’s has not announced a specific opening date or groundbreaking date for the Fort Pierce-area store.
When it does open, the location would push Buc-ee’s farther down Florida’s Atlantic coast, giving I-95 travelers a store well south of the chain’s existing Daytona Beach and St. Augustine locations.
The location is also notable because it would serve the Treasure Coast rather than simply filling in another stop near one of Buc-ee’s existing Florida stores. Its position at I-95 and Indrio Road would put the chain within easier reach of drivers traveling between Central Florida and the heavily populated communities farther south.
For now, the newest development is narrower but still significant: St. Lucie County’s local hurdles are largely behind the project. The next milestone to watch is state sign-off—the step Buc-ee’s still needs before construction can finally get underway.
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