A New Hy-Vee for Waukee: 2012 in Review

Editor's Note:  As the year winds down, Waukee Patch is looking back at some of the stories that made you talk, cry, laugh or just scratch your head.This story originally ran on July 6, 2012. 

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There's nothing more exciting than the prospect of something big coming to town.

Right now, Waukee's "something big" is the construction of a new Hy-Vee Store near the corner of Hickman and Alice's Roads.

According to an article in the Des Moines Register online, the new store is scheduled to open in the spring of 2013.

That date couldn't come soon enough for some Waukee residents. With Fareway currently the only store in the city, the idea of having a second option suggests progress in this growing town of almost 14,000.

But the Hy-Vee project has, at times, seemed long and drawn out. A site plan that included a grocery store, convenience store and car wash was initially filed with the city of Waukee in February 2011. A year later, the council voted to extend Hy-Vee's site plan for one year.

It wasn't until April of this year when Hy-Vee filed a building permit for the convenience store, that things finally started looking up. Construction began not long after the filing and is expected to be completed this fall. 

There are other signs of progress, too. The widening of Alice’s Road at Hickman Road will eventually make the turn into the Hy-Vee parking lot easier. That project will be finished Aug. 10, said Brad Deets, interim city administrator.