Convenience store proposed for gas station

The owner of a Shell station in the Springfield area of Mason District is proposing to add a convenience store and double the number of fuel pumps.

Petroleum Marketing Group Inc. is seeking a zoning special exception amendment for a major makeover of the gas station and repair shop at 5533 Backlick Road at the intersection of Industrial Road.

The proposal calls for a new 3,982-square-foot convenience store, possibly operated by 7-Eleven.

The gas station has been at that spot for over 50 years. “As consumer preferences have evolved, the expectation is that a gas station will also have an associated convenience store,” the application states.  

The Shell station currently has four fuel pumps that can serve eight vehicles at a time. The applicant would up that to eight fuel pumps serving 16 vehicles. The underground storage tanks would be replaced and spread across a larger area.

The expansion would result in increasing overall daily trips from the current level of 1,377 per day on average to 3,383. Both the fuel pumps and convenience store would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The two curb cuts on Backlick Road would be consolidated and moved further away from the Industrial Road intersection. The curb cut on Industrial Road would also be moved away from the intersection.

The proposal would go to the Mason District Land Use Committee on Feb. 27. A public hearing before the Fairfax County Planning Commission would be held in early summer.