BROADVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Sheetz wants to build a new gas station, convenience store and restaurant at the northeast corner of Broadview and East Wallings roads, but City Council is pushing back.
The Altoona, Pa.-based chain would demolish a former Rite Aid building to make room for the new Sheetz, which would include a drive-thru.
It would also take up two parcels -- now occupied by Frank’s Coach and Carriage, an automobile repair shop -- directly north of the Rite Aid building. Sheetz would tear down the Frank’s building.
On Feb. 10, members of council’s Growth, Planning and Zoning Committee, along with residents attending the meeting, expressed opposition to the proposed location.
They said it was too close to homes and small local businesses that might suffer from Sheetz’s overwhelming presence.
Residents applauded and cheered when committee member Jennifer Mahnic questioned the location.
“That’s going to be a very tall hurdle to get through,” Mahnic said.
On Feb. 12, the Broadview Heights Planning Commission tabled the proposal. It is scheduled to review the plan again on Wednesday (Feb. 26).
Unveiling the plan
Diane Calta -- an attorney with Mansour Gavin LPA in Cleveland who is representing Sheetz -- told the committee Feb. 10 that the new gas station would have six fuel-pump islands with 12 fueling stations.
Ellen Selle, project engineer with Sheetz, said the store/restaurant would measure more than 6,000 square feet and would include indoor and outdoor dining.
Sheetz would be open 24 hours a day. Lights and about 40 cameras would provide security.
Security personnel in Altoona would constantly monitor the cameras and report anything suspicious directly to the Broadview-East Wallings location, Selle said.
A traffic study, completed for Sheetz by GPD Group, an Akron-based architectural, engineering and planning firm, found that the Broadview-East Wallings intersection can handle the new Sheetz in terms of traffic flow, Selle told the council committee.
Owen Wolf, real estate site selector for Sheetz, said the Broadview-East Wallings corner was chosen because a rezoning would not be required. The intersection is a commercial corridor.
“We’ve been working for probably close to a decade, if not longer, to figure out a suitable location in this municipality,” Wolf told the committee.
“As some of you may be aware of, Rite Aid announced bankruptcy last year, so we pegged this intersection as a viable option,” Wolf said.
Wolf said Sheetz also liked that the Broadview-East Wallings site didn’t abut any residential districts so it won’t disturb homeowners.
Wolf said Sheetz would lease the Rite Aid parcel from the current landlord, RITEOH LLC, which has an option to purchase the two Frank’s parcels, contingent on the city approving the Sheetz plan.
Calta said Sheetz and RITEOH LLC would consolidate the Rite Aid parcel and the two Frank’s parcels, owned by FPD Holdings LLC, to create a new 2.7-acre parcel for the new gas station/store/restaurant.
If Sheetz receives city approvals and building permits, construction would begin in mid-2025 and the new location would open in early 2026, Calta said.
However, before the project can move forward, Sheetz needs a conditional use permit from the city.
The site is zoned a local retail district, in which gas stations are allowed, but only with special permission from the planning commission and council.
Try Ohio 82
Committee member Tom Pavlica said Sheetz sounds like a great place to work. He said he liked the building design.
However, Pavlica said he has received emails and phone calls from several residents living near Broadview-East Wallings who are against the proposal.
They are concerned about light and noise pollution coming from the site.
Committee Chairman Joe Price said he travels through the Broadview-Wallings intersection daily and it’s already congested. The Sheetz would draw even more traffic.
Price added that both Broadview and Wallings are two-lane streets.
“My concern is you’re talking a shoehorn and making this site fit,” Price said.
“It’s far too small for the type of business model that I’ve seen Sheetz build in the past.”
Mahnic said she worried about how Sheetz would affect existing small businesses, like stores and restaurants, at or near the intersection.
Price and Councilman Glenn Goodwin said Sheetz should consider Ohio 82 in Broadview Heights as a location.
Wolf said Sheetz looked at Ohio 82 for more than 10 years, but was unable to find land available in the proper zoning district there.
“It’s been a long, drawn-out discernment process to find this (Broadview-Wallings) location,” Wolf said.
Addressing one of Price’s concerns, Selle added that Sheetz has other locations at intersections with two-lane roads.
As for how Sheetz would affect existing small businesses in the area, Wolf said the company’s goal is not to put anyone out of business, but “to do our job the best we can.”
According to its website, Sheetz Inc. was founded in 1952 as a convenience store by Bob Sheetz. Second and third stores were opened in 1963 and 1969.
Expansion accelerated in the 1970s and, in 1973, the Sheetz family added gasoline pumps to their stores in Central Pennsylvania.
By 1983, there were 100 Sheetz locations.
Calta said that today Sheetz operates more than 700 locations in Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Read more from the Sun Star Courier.