Morrison council paves way for new Tractor Supply store

MORRISON – The City Council is taking steps to annex land on the east side of town that is expected to become the home of a new Tractor Supply store.

The council voted unanimously Monday night to enter into an agreement that would begin the process of bringing 15700 Lincoln Road into city limits. It also authorized the mayor to ratify a subdivision plat named the Tractor Supply addition.

According to documents presented to the council, the 6.63 acres of farmland is owned by Lanny and Linda Spangler, owners of Spangler’s Landscape and Garden Center in Morrison, with Duane Kerr and Pamela Kerr as trustees. It is on Route 30 west of the town’s sports complex.

The sale of the land to a Charlotte, North Carolina, company called Primax Properties, a real estate development and investment company, is in the works, but the sale cannot be closed until the plat is recorded, City Administrator Brian Melton said.

Tractor Supply is expected to lease the land from Primax, he said.

Bringing the property into city limits will give it access to city sewer and water. An easement will allow infrastructure to run through farmland on the west side of the parcel. Tractor Supply would pay to install infrastructure and, after annexation is complete, the land would be zoned C-2 general business, Melton said.

“It puts a major user on our water supply, and it brings property tax and sales tax and, of course, income tax from more employment to the city,” Melton said in an interview with Shaw Media on Wednesday. “It’s a great win for us.”

A public hearing for the pre-annexation will be April 29. Work on the $2.2 million, 22,000-square-foot Tractor Supply building could begin as soon as April 30, Melton said.

“The company itself is ready to go today,” he told the council.

The stretch of land along Route 30 where Tractor Supply will be located is part of Whiteside County land that has city property on either side.

The hope would be to someday annex nearby islands of county land to the city, as well, Melton said.

About Tractor Supply

Tractor Supply, founded 85 years ago, is based in Brentwood, Tennessee, and is the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the U.S., ranking 291 on the Fortune 500, according to the company’s website.

As of Dec. 30, 2023, the company operated 2,216 Tractor Supply stores in 49 states, including stores in Dixon and Princeton.

Visit www.tractorsupply.com for information.