The owner of a neighboring Taco Bell property said he intends to buy the site of the ponderosa restaurant that closed last week in Auburn.

Gary Hurand of Flint, Michigan is reportedly working with the owners of the real estate and hopes to acquire the property the first of the year. One goal for Hurand is to improve access to 14 acres of undeveloped land he owns located directly north of the Taco Bell and Ponderosa sites, along the east side of Interstate 69.

Ponderosa became the second restaurant to close this year at the I-69 and State Road 8 interchange in Auburn. The Auburn Bob Evans restaurant was first to close in that area of Auburn earlier this year. The former Bob Evans location is being replaced by a Culver’s restaurant.