ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A new billboard featuring an iconic cartoon beaver is greeting drivers traveling southbound on Interstate 95, just before they get to the Indrio Road exit where Buc-ee’s plans to build one of its massive travel centers.
Unlike a similar billboard facing northbound I-95 traffic just before Indrio, the southbound sign doesn’t tease a distance to the nearest location, like many Buc-ee’s advertisements do.
The northbound sign, which reads “GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT” adds “131 MILES,” the distance to the next Buc-ee’s location on I-95, in Daytona Beach.
The southbound sign — “I LOVE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT ME” — does not include a distance for the next store in that direction. The Indrio Road location, north of Fort Pierce, would be the company’s southernmost location in Florida.
The new billboard near the planned location does not mean construction has begun, however. Less than a mile down I-95, at the southeast corner of the Indrio Road interchange, the site remains a field with palm trees and grazing cattle.
The project continues working its way through approvals and permitting, St. Lucie County spokesperson Erick Gill said. The county anticipates Buc-ee’s to submit a new site plan by the end of the week, Gill said, but the changes from the previous version will not be significant enough for it to need new County Commission approvals.
The most recent permit application was submitted by the company Sept. 22, Gill said.
If and when all of the approvals are secured, construction of a typical Buc-ee’s takes 12-15 months from start to opening day, company officials have said.
Why the company put up a billboard so near the planned location ahead of construction even beggining?
“No comment,” Buc-ee’s spokesperson Crissy Gonzales said in an email.
Buc-ee’s is known for its playfull billboards lining interstates and highways across the South, advertising upcoming locations, at times from more than 100 miles away. At the locations themselves, Buc-ee’s often has tall signs that can be seen from miles down the road. The St. Lucie County Commission changed its sign rules in 2024 to allow Buc-ee’s to build a 100-foot-tall sign at its site.
The most recent site plans show Buc-ee’s building a 76,245-square-foot retail store and 778 parking spaces. Of those, 611 would be standard parking spots, 19 would be disabled-accessible and 10 would be for buses. It would have 120 gas pumps and charging spaces for 18 electric vehicles.
Wicker Perlis is TCPalm’s Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Buc-ee’s billboards near planned St. Lucie County location spark speculation on future
Reporting by Wicker Perlis, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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