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McDonald’s looking at site in Tonganoxie

By Caroline Trowbridge - | May 22, 2002

It’s possible Tonganoxie could be home to another fast-food restaurant.

“Right now, we’re just doing an investigation,” said Gary Berlin of McDonald’s real estate department. “We do that for every site. We go and look at a piece of property, look at zoning, city codes and what type of infrastructure are available at the site.”

In addition, the corporation reviews demographics of the area, along with traffic counts on nearby roads.

The company is examining a vacant tract of land at the northwest corner of U.S. Highway 24-40 and Main Street, according to Diane Wicklund, Tonganoxie city planner.

“They’re looking at zoning, what our site plan review process is, what our general requirements are about building and sign regulations,” she said. “It’s general information so they can assess whether they want to move forward.”

Survey stakes dot the property, which is owned by Community National Bank.

“They’re doing all of the groundwork they typically do,” Wicklund said. “And now, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Bill Altman, president of the Tonganoxie branch of Community National Bank, said the property is under contract. He said if the site meets McDonald’s requirements, it could be sold within 90 days.

McDonald’s contacted bank officials about the location, which is across U.S. Highway 24-40 from Tonganoxie’s junior high and high schools, and just east of Sonic Drive-In.

And although he said it was a positive sign for the community, he was cautious.

“I hope it’s not at the expense of our current business base,” Altman said.