Indiana has moved closer to receiving its first Buc-ee’s, but the final decision is still weeks away. The Greenwood proposal has progressed well beyond the initial reports that Indiana might eventually land one or even two Buc-ee’s locations, although residents will have to wait until September for the vote that actually decides it.
The proposed store would be built in Greenwood, south of Indianapolis, at the corner of Worthsville and Collins roads, abutting Interstate 65.
Buc-ee’s wants to develop a 74,000-square-foot travel center on roughly 37 acres of a larger site of more than 80 acres. Plans include 120 fueling positions, electric-vehicle charging facilities, a drainage pond, green space and walking trails connecting the property to Greenwood’s trail network.
Because the property is currently zoned residential large, an affiliate of Buc-ee’s needs the city to rezone it to a planned unit development district—a designation for projects that do not fit neatly into existing categories.
The Greenwood Advisory Plan Commission voted 8-0 in July to advance the proposal. More than 100 people attended that meeting, and several nearby residents raised concerns about traffic, noise, lighting and the effect of a 24-hour travel center on surrounding homes. School officials were particularly concerned about traffic during student drop-off and pickup periods.
That concern produced the first twist. Buc-ee’s agreed to conduct another traffic study beginning August 23, once school was back in session, measuring traffic around Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation buildings every 15 minutes for a week. The study will capture conditions during actual school traffic rather than relying on earlier projections made when classes were not in session. Buc-ee’s has agreed to make additional infrastructure improvements near the schools if the study shows they are needed.
The newest development came in August, when the project received primary plat approval from the plan commission—conditional on the Common Council approving the rezoning. That vote is scheduled for September 9.
Buc-ee’s has said the development would include $13 million to $14 million in transportation improvements. Those include a new roundabout at Worthsville and Collins, acceleration and deceleration lanes, extended turn lanes and three entrances into the travel center. They were added based on the findings of a nearly 600-page traffic study of nearby roads.
Those improvements could ultimately help the proposal win approval. They also show why a Buc-ee’s takes considerably longer to develop than an ordinary convenience store.
Even if Greenwood approves the rezoning in September, construction would not begin immediately. Buc-ee’s would still need to complete its property purchase, finalize the development agreement and obtain building permits. Greenwood’s mayor has estimated the store could open within about two and a half years of approval, which would put an opening in late 2028 or 2029.
Indiana currently has no Buc-ee’s locations. The travel center is expected to employ 175 to 225 people with an annual payroll of about $9 million. A second possible site has also been discussed in Whitestown, north of Indianapolis, but that possibility is much less advanced than Greenwood.
The Greenwood proposal remains alive and has cleared every hurdle but the last one. Indiana’s first Buc-ee’s is not a done deal until the Common Council acts.
For now, school traffic—not Beaver Nuggets—is controlling the timeline.
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