Cerro Gordo supervisors approve sale of county land for new Kwik Star store

MASON CITY — The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors has approved the sale of county-owned land near the North Iowa Events Center for the development of a convenience store.

Kwik Trip, the parent company of Kwik Star stores, is purchasing the property near the corner of State Highway 122 and Eisenhower Avenue from the county for $450,000 with the intent to develop it into their second Mason City store. That property is where the former Iowa State Patrol headquarters was located.

The county’s Director of Administrative Services Tom Meyer says the property has been up for sale for a while, and Kwik Trip saw interest once they learned about the opportunity.  “We contacted Kwik Trip and they were interested, and we came to the $450,000 for the purchase price. There is 180 day due diligence so it isn’t as if this is going to close next week. Beyond that, they also have additional time to secure any permits and zoning changes, anything they need from the city or any other entity to make this happen. It’s probably a little bit down the road before they  fully conclude the process.”

Meyer says besides the county-owned property they are also looking at the adjacent property to the north. “Also contingent in the agreement I believe, it also says it’s contingent on purchase of the property to the north, which is the old mental health center, so they are looking at that whole area there.”

It would be the second Kwik Star location in Mason City as they are currently constructing a store at 15th and South Federal that is scheduled to open in November. Kwik Trip has been active in recent years in placing new Kwik Star locations in north-central Iowa, opening their Clear Lake store near Interstate 35 in 2015 and last August opening a store in Garner on US Highway 18.