Mansfield approves – Mansfield City Council approved a new Buc-ee’s Travel Center in Richland County, Ohio, after the company agreed to front about $15 million in infrastructure costs. The project is tied to a local public-private financing structure and comes as Buc-ee’s rolls ou
The moment Mansfield City Council voted to approve Buc-ee’s Travel Center plans in Richland County, Ohio, it set in motion a deal built around who pays first—and who gets repaid later.
On June 2, council approved a development plan for a new Buc-ee’s Travel Center roughly halfway between Columbus and Cleveland. The agreement turned on one key commitment: Buc-ee’s would cover the necessary infrastructure costs upfront, expected to total $15 million.
“They’re advancing all the money for the infrastructure,” Greg Daniels, outside counsel for the development agreement, told the Mansfield News Journal. “They’re paying it all out of pocket, up front. They will get paid back in turn through (a) sales tax charge.”
The payback mechanism is tied to a New Community Authority—a public-private partnership described by Daniels as something common in the Columbus area. Under that structure, cities, counties, and developers share the costs of constructing public infrastructure inside a defined district.
Daniels said the sales tax surcharge would apply to items not including fuel, set at 2%: 1.75% would go to Buc-ee’s. Buc-ee’s is expected to recoup the money in 20 years, while the additional 0.25% would be reinvested into infrastructure projects throughout the area.
The project is expected to break ground in the first quarter of 2028, though it remains subject to change.
A separate shift coming from Buc-ee’s also points to how the company is modernizing customer flows even as it expands. The company is introducing a new pay-at-the-pump policy that means customers can no longer pay with cards inside the store.
Buc-ee’s has positioned itself as more than the traditional roadside pit stop. Founded in 1982, the convenience megastore and gas station chain—known for large, clean bathrooms and a beaver mascot—has grown to more than 50 locations across a dozen states, with the vast majority of outlets in Texas.
At the Mansfield City Council meeting. Angela Janik. who oversees Buc-ee’s project coordination and development. told council the company’s aim is “not a truck stop.” She described Buc-ee’s as a family-centered travel center. saying the company has “essentially turned the industry upside-down. ” creating “more of an all-purpose stop than a convenience stop.”.
That expansion language is now meeting local infrastructure math in Ohio: Buc-ee’s promises up-front funding for public works, and the surrounding area uses a targeted sales tax surcharge—excluding fuel—to pay it back.
The sequence matters: approval on June 2. infrastructure costs expected at $15 million. a sales-tax-backed repayment plan set out in percentages. and a projected ground-breaking in early 2028. For Mansfield and Richland County. the question becomes how quickly construction can follow. and how the added surcharge will land on everyday purchases in the district.
Mansfield also isn’t the only place Buc-ee’s is moving this year. In email confirmations previously sent by Buc-ee’s media coordinator Crissy Gonzales, Buc-ee’s shared opening dates for multiple locations:
Goodyear, Arizona: June 22
San Marcos, Texas: July 27
Benton, Arkansas: Aug. 17
Gonzales also said a location in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is projected to open Nov. 16.
The company’s contact page lists additional openings through 2031, including the following timeline:
2027: Ruston, Louisiana; Kansas City, Kansas; Gallaway, Tennessee; St. Lucie, Florida; Boerne, Texas; Monroe County, Georgia
2028: Mebane, North Carolina; Lafayette, Louisiana
2029 and beyond: Ocala, Florida; West Memphis, Arkansas; Oak Grove, Kentucky; Hardeeville, South Carolina (2031)
As Buc-ee’s expands its footprint. the Mansfield approval shows how growth is now tied not just to land and construction. but to financing structures that shift upfront costs to the developer and repay them through district-specific tax charges—while the company simultaneously tightens the rules of how customers pay at the pump.
Buc-ee’s Mansfield Ohio Richland County travel center pay-at-the-pump infrastructure deal New Community Authority sales tax surcharge Greg Daniels Angela Janik
So they just let Buc-ee’s pay $15M and everyone’s supposed to be cool with it? Sounds like a whole money trick but I guess it’s “infrastructure.”
Wait, they said 2% sales tax charge but not on fuel? I’m confused because if it’s a Travel Center they’re gonna make the big money on snacks anyway so how does that help residents. Also pay-at-the-pump only? That seems annoying.
Replying to who pays first thing… isn’t that just Buc-ee’s funding their own shopping center and then charging extra so they get it back? Like yeah it’s infrastructure but sounds like the city is basically helping them recoup. 20 years is a long time too, people will be arguing about it forever.
Honestly Mansfield approves everything now? Richland County better read the fine print because “New Community Authority” sounds like one of those things where they pretend it’s shared costs but it ends up on taxpayers. And pay-at-the-pump with no cards inside the store?? Great, now I gotta fiddle with my phone or stand in line like it’s 2009.