A petition to bring a Buc-ee’s travel center to Norwalk has attracted more than 3,500 signatures and will soon be sent to the Texas-based company in what Norwalk Mayor Tom Phillips said is an example of the city dreaming big.

Bringing Buc-ee’s to Norwalk is part of the longer-term vision that is included in the city’s annexation of 2,900 acres from Iowa Highway 28 west to Interstate 35. The annexation was approved by the state’s City Development Board in March, but has been appealed by a single landowner and is now awaiting a judge’s ruling in district court.

The annexation will also open the door to development of a data center on about 300 acres of land immediately southwest of the city. The data center developer’s purchase of the land for that project is on hold until the annexation appeal is resolved.

Phillips said the city may move forward with annexing that land separately to allow the data center project to move forward.

Meanwhile, the mayor has his sights set on Buc-ee’s with hopes of getting on the company’s list of future locations.

The talk about drawing Buc-ee’s to Norwalk came out of the discussion of the annexation and the eventual construction of an interchange at Fillmore Street and I-35, Phillips said.

“I was telling some people about what we were doing and how we want to put an interchange out there, and I had heard of Buc-ee’s but had never been to a Buc-ee’s and someone said that would be a great spot for one,” he said.

That led to the city’s decision to start the petition asking Buc-ee’s to come to Norwalk.

Phillips said the location would be great for Buc-ee’s because of the interstate traffic that passes by each day. It also is an elevated site with great visibility for signage, he said.

It would also be good for the city, generating more gas tax, property tax and sale tax, Phillips said.

“I think it would also spur some other development all around the interchange,” he said.

Buc-ee’s was founded in 1982. It has grown to 54 stores in 11 states. Its logo is a beaver with a red cap against a circular yellow background. Among the company’s claims to fame is it having the cleanest restrooms in the country.

A spokesperson for Buc-ee’s declined comment when asked about the Norwalk petition or the company’s growth strategy.

It traditionally has been located in southern states but has started to expand its presence north, with possible locations in Kansas City, Mo., and Milwaukee, Wis., which Phillips said should make Norwalk location even more attractive to Buc-ee’s.

“Why not have an additional location between those two?” the mayor said. “Norwalk’s a great place for it.”

The company is also eyeing a location in Meridian, Idaho, which Phillips said gives Norwalk more reason to try to tap in the company’s migration north.

Hollie Zajicek, the city’s director of economic development, said Norwalk should be attractive to Buc-ee’s because of its location along I-35, proximity to the Des Moines metro, and the traffic counts and traffic patterns in the area.

She also cited the city’s growing population (about 15,000, up 43% in the past decade) and median household income of $94,000 as making the city attractive for development overall. The city has also seen a massive 980% jump in taxable value for commercial and industrial properties in recent years, giving it the resources for new development, Zajicek said.

“So we’re going to give it a shot,” she said of going after Buc-ee’s. “Crazier things have happened, right?”

Zajicek said the vision for the corridor from the city to I-35 is for the development of data, tech and IT. The city has begun to extend sanitary sewer service to that area, including where they hope someday to see a Buc-ee’s. When complete, the city will extend sewer service past I-35 and into Madison County, and eventually serve about 30,000 acres.

Phillips said the city’s plan to build an interchange where a Buc-ee’s could be located is ambitious at seven to 10 years. He said he’s spoken with Iowa’s congressional delegation about tapping into federal funding for the project.

Phillips said the stretch of Interstate 35 between Cumming and Highway 92 is one of the longest stretches without an exit in a metro area in the state, and he believes the Iowa Department of Transportation would be interested in building an interchange at Fillmore Street in Norwalk.

“We’re just planting the seed that that’s going to come through at some point in time and our best guess is that it’s probably seven to 10 years before we get any federal funding to be able to put an interchange out there,” Phillips said. “I think Buc-ee’s has a five-year construction plan already set up, so if we could get on their seven-to-10-year plan that would be awesome.”

Phillps said he has not directly communicated with Buc-ee’s.

He said the city will likely wrap up the petition soon and put together a package making their pitch to Buc-ee’s and send it off the company.

“And hopefully they’ll give us a call,” he said.

Phillips acknowledges the city’s effort to bring Buc-ee’s to town may be a long shot.

“You have to aim big and have big goals,” he said. “Even if you don’t meet that goal you’re going to get something out of it. And that’s going to be bigger than if you have a smaller goal. My take on it is if we’re doing a whole transportation corridor out to Fillmore and then to the interstate, if we get going with it and there’s interest and development occurring within that corridor that can help that transportation corridor, that would be great.”