Third truck stop could be locating in New Kent

Last month while speaking before New Kent’s Planning Commission during a public hearing on an application for building a second truck stop on Route 106 near Interstate 64, county resident Luke Brady expressed fear that New Kent risks becoming known as “the truck stop county.”

He could be right.

Another company is expressing interest in building what could become a third truck stop at the I-64/Talleysville interchange. This time the targeted location is the southwest corner of the interchange, which is directly across Route 106 from the existing Pilot truck stop and where Wilco Hess is seeking approval for building a “travel plaza.”

A conditional use permit application submitted by Wilco Hess comes before county supervisors for a Monday (May 13) public hearing at 7 p.m. So far, the third company, Oklahoma City, Okla.-based Love’s, has not submitted an application, but company representatives have been in talks with county officials.

“They have contacted us with questions about our ordinances, but how serious they are, I’m not sure,” said county administrator Rodney Hathaway on Monday, adding there have been “very brief conversations with [county] planning staff.”

“It’s still in the preliminary stages,” said county planning manager Kelli Le Duc, adding that company representatives have spoken with VDOT concerning vehicle traffic problems along Route 106.

Le Duc also said that Love’s representatives are working with the landowners, the Shaia family of Richmond.

When contacted, Jenny Love Meyer, Love’s director of communications, declined to comment about specifics of the New Kent project.

“We’ve got a number of projects going on around the country and right now it’s early enough in the process that I can’t comment on [the New Kent] location,” she said. “As we get closer, we’ll be able to give out more information.”

Love’s is similar to Wilco Hess in that it’s a family owned and operated business. According to its web site, Love’s began in 1964 with Tom and Judy Love’s gas station in Oklahoma. Today, the company boasts more than 290 locations in 39 states.

Love’s operates under four brands — Loves’ Travel Stops, Love’s Country Stores, Love’s Truck Tire Care, and Gemini Motor Transport — and averages opening 15 new sites each year. The “country stores” feature a fueling stop/convenience store. The larger “travel stops” are found at interstate interchanges and include the store concept plus a fast food restaurant, truck supplies, showers, and an RV dump station.

The company employs close to 10,000 with annual revenue exceeding $176 billion.

The Wilco Hess application, meanwhile, attracted close to three dozen residents, mostly opponents, for last month’s public hearing before the planning commission. By a narrow 6-4 vote, commission members forwarded the application to supervisors with a recommendation for approval.

Wilco Hess plans to build an 8,000 square-foot convenience store and 3,400 square-foot fast food restaurant on 16 acres located on the southeast corner of the interchange. Also planned are a dozen auto and eight heavy truck fuel pumps along with 121 truck parking spaces.

Wilco Hess has 390 locations in eight states and employs 7,000 workers, company officials say. They add that the New Kent project, which would employ 65-75 workers, represents a $7-$8 million investment for the company and close to $250,000 in annual revenue for the county.

The existing Pilot truck stop has 35 spaces for heavy truck parking. That company’s conditional use permit with the county expires in December 2014.