Mebane weighs plan for more shops, restaurants and apartments near future

A big retail and residential project could further transform the suburban edges of Mebane across Interstate 85/40 from a planned Buc-ee’s travel center.

Greensboro-based Koury Corp. wants to build 299,565 square feet of retail and restaurant space, plus three standalone outparcel sites, on 30 acres on Trollingwood-Hawfields Road, according to plans submitted to the city.

Another 53 acres behind the shopping center could add 645 apartments, 38 townhomes, and future office and medical buildings. The developer has offered to keep just over two acres as open space, and build two clubhouses and two pools for the apartments.

The Buc-ee’s exit in Mebane has attracted another new project that could add over two dozen retail and restaurant storefronts, 645 apartments, 38 townhomes, and future office and medical buildings on Tollingwood-Hawfields Road, just off Interstates 85/40.

The Mebane City Council is being asked to rezone the land for more dense residential and commercial construction. The council meets at 6 p.m. Monday in the Glendel Stephenson Municipal Building, 106 E. Washington St.

The nearly 83-acre site, at the northeastern corner of the interstate, is less than a mile from North Carolina’s first Buc-ee’s travel center and next to Bojangles and a new Duke Health Mebane Campus under construction

Specific shopping center tenants, including a large anchor retail store, have not been announced.

Mebane’s Planning Board unanimously recommended rejecting the Koury proposal in November, saying it is inconsistent with the city’s long-range plans and out of step with existing development, which includes mostly homes, with multiple manufacturing facilities and small businesses.

A highway billboard with an upside-down Buc-ee’s logo is the only visible change so far, with Buc-ee’s planning a grand opening in late 2026 or 2027. The building will be slightly larger than the nearby Tanger Outlets mall, but less than half the size of Mebane’s Walmart.

Until then, Triangle area fans of Buc-ee’s Beaver nuggets and Texas brisket can get their fix off Interstate 95 in Florence, South Carolina, or starting next summer in Mount Crawford, Virginia.

Buc-ee’s first North Carolina store could open by 2026 or 2027, company officials have said, but major improvements must first be made to Trollingwood-Hawfields Road off Interstates 85/40 in Mebane.

Projects would help grow Mebane roads, utilities

▪ Both projects require major infrastructure changes to handle more traffic and people in the area.

▪ The Buc-ee’s travel center will be 74,000 square feet with 120 gas pumping stations and could add nearly 2,300 trips at peak Saturday hours, and 1,000 to 1,500 trips during peak weekday hours.

▪ CSMS Management LLC, a Buc-ee’s affiliate, paid $12.8 million for the land in October 2023.

▪ The Koury project would add more travel lanes to Trollingwood-Hawfields Road, more interstate on- and off-ramp lanes, and pedestrian crosswalks and signals. It also would build a new wastewater pump station to expand the city’s utility capacity.

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▪ Buc-ee’s and the N.C. Department of Transportation plan to replace the two-lane bridge over I-40/85 with a diverging diamond interchange. The new travel lanes would be similar to the interchange at N.C. 119, weaving back and forth through a series of traffic lights to eliminate left turns and keep traffic flowing.

▪ Buc-ee’s will help pay for road improvements, which must be completed before the travel center opens. NCDOT officials have estimated the work could cost nearly $33 million.

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