DeSantis announces largest Buc-ee’s is coming to Florida

OCALA, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the largest Buc-ee’s will be built in Florida.

The announcement was made at a press conference where DeSantis awarded $4 million in infrastructure funds for Marion County.

The governor said the new Buc-ee’s will be “massive.” It will be 80,000 square feet with 120 fuel pumps and around 720 parking spaces.

“This is going to be bigger than I think the other two in Florida and it may be as big as anybody’s they’ve ever done. So this is a great project,” DeSantis said.

The new Buc-ee’s will create a new interchange at Northwest 49th Street and I-75 in Ocala and will be the first one on I-75. The governor said this will give people job opportunities and he’s “excited about that.”

Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation Jared Perdue said they’re going to be building a new type of interchange that “really helps relieve traffic” called a diverging diamond interchange.

“This is going to help relieve congestion, but also provide that for that economic growth [….] And it’s really going to bring substantial relief. So we’re extremely excited to partner on this project,” Perdue said.

The grant for the project will be through the Florida Department of Transportation.

“Under the governor’s leadership, the economy has continued to grow and diversify. And really, it’s creating jobs all over the state,” Perdue said.

Buc-ee’s Founder and CEO Arch “Beaver” Aplin said when they “realized that there was an opportunity” that the new interchange would be created for the Buc-ee’s, it “really opened our [their] eyes for the opportunities here.”

Aplin credited DeSantis’ leadership for Florida’s accomplishments including the state being “heavy in tourism,” and said he “can’t say enough about our pro-business state.”

“I want to say all of the reasons that the governor mentioned earlier is exactly why businesses, businessmen, businesses like us want to be in Florida,” Aplin said.