Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
VIDALIA, La. — It’s been more than two years ago now that the Vidalia Planning and Zoning Board gave the thumbs up to the development of a new commercial gas station and convenience store across from Walmart.
Since then, a structure has been raised for the new Raceway station, catching people’s attention who happen to be traveling in that busy area of Carter Street.
Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft confirmed that the construction is for the new Raceway, which had been approved by the planning commission in March 2023.
It took lots of behind-the-scenes preliminary work before breaking ground to build the new fueling station, hence why it has been a two-year process, Craft said. Developers were procuring rights of way to build access roads and acquiring permits for the property’s intended use.
Rezoning was required for the development of the 33-acre parcel across from Walmart because the parcel, which was owned by local engineer Bryant Hammett and partners, was part of development plans made during former Mayor Hyram Copeland’s administration.
The original plan was to build a “Square on Carter” that would have included boutique-like shops with upper-level apartments. However, until the work on the new Raceway began in mid-June, the property stayed an empty field or, at times, supported farming crops.
John Thompson, project manager with Duplantis Design Group, presented the plans for the gas station to the planning commission, which called for a 3,000-square-foot building and eight fuel dispensers in front of the building with a pumping station on each side and three dispensers for 18-wheelers at the back of the building.
An access road would be built at the traffic light by Walmart, turning that three-way light into a four-way light, with Department of Transportation approval. A second access road would also be built to the Raceway for emergency use, Thompson explained.
This also opens up an entry point for other developments in that plot, Craft said at the planning meeting.
“This is going to be, I think, a stepping stone for a good development in that whole area,” he said. “It’s going to open the door for more development, so I think it’s a good thing for our town.”