Casey’s General Stores bringing large travel center to Tea

Aug. 13, 2020

Casey’s General Stores is planning a big new travel center in a fast-growing part of Tea.

The gas station and convenience store chain plans to build on a 5.4-acre property in the Bakker Landing development on Highway 106 on the west side of Interstate 29.

“We are excited about the progress of this location and adding a Casey’s store in the Tea community. The location has received approval, and we are in the final stages of permits and other details,” Casey’s said in a statement. The Iowa-based company has a neighborhood convenience store on Heritage Parkway.

“We look forward to sharing updates down the road.”

The location will be about three times larger than Casey’s typical neighborhood convenience store sites, said Ryan Tysdal of Van Buskirk Cos., who represents Casey’s in South Dakota.

“This is a location we’ve been looking at for over three years,” he said. “We’ve been extremely impressed by the development in the area and felt this was a logical location.”

The travel center is a newer concept for Casey’s.

“There are not a lot of them around the Midwest yet. It is a real testament to the strength of our market to see Casey’s choosing this area for their new oversized travel center design,” Tysdal said.

Plans submitted to the city of Tea call for room for trucks to park and a truckers’ lounge area where visitors could shower and change clothes, in addition to classic Casey’s offerings.

“We’re excited,” said Kevin Nissen, Tea’s planning and zoning administrator. “The food is awesome, retail sales is always a plus with the city, and they should generate a lot of revenue. They will be a good anchor tenant as you first pull into the Bakker Landing addition. I think they’re a great fit.”

In addition to the natural traffic from Interstate 29, workforce in the area played a factor, Tysdal said.

“The daytime population in the 1-mile radius around the site is astounding. This Casey’s location will serve as a coffee stop, pizza stop and pit stop for a lot of folks in the area,” he said.

Construction is expected to begin this fall, and Casey’s plans on being open next year, he said.

Momentum at Bakker Landing is solid with several deals in progress, said Joel Ingle of Harr & Lemme Commercial Real Estate, who is marketing the development.

“There’s about 20 acres remaining in phase one,” he said. “We’ve started development on phase two, about another 40 acres that we’re starting on now. A good part of the 20 that’s left is for more retail highway-type users.”

Some of the first businesses in the development are Ideal Wedding & Events, I-29 RV Supercenter, Morton Buildings and Sherwin-Williams Commercial Paint Store, which opened in July.

As improvements continue on Highway 106, better traffic flow and stoplights “will help immensely to turn the tide toward more retail or hospitality or food uses,” Ingle said. “Right now, the traffic flow is too much for good access, so we’re aiming to have improved roadway out there by the end of 2021 to better entertain those uses.”

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Casey’s General Stores bringing large travel center to Tea

Casey’s General Stores is planning a big new travel center in a fast-growing part of Tea.

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