Proposals for Sheetz locations have been submitted in Springboro, Vandalia, Beavercreek, and Franklin. Wawa stores are planned for Huber Heights and Fairborn. GetGo is eyeing sites in West Carrollton and Kettering.
The pace of change has left at least one city wondering if they should tap the breaks on these new developments.
The city of Huber Heights currently has 19 gas stations, but four additional fueling centers are in varying stages of the development process, according to city planner Aaron Sorrell.
And that number does not take into account last week’s news that Buc-ee’s plans to construct a mammoth store (its first Ohio location) in Huber Heights.
During a July 18, 2023, city council work session, Huber Heights officials discussed the possibility of implementing a moratorium on gas stations to slow the rate of new such developments within the city.
Interim City Manager Bryan Chodkowski cited statistics from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Statistica.com, which show the per capita ratio of fueling stations to residents ranges from one fueling station per 2,600 residents to one fueling station per 2,800 residents.
“Based on our 2020 census population of 43,439 (residents), the city on average should have between 16.7 and 15.5 fueling stations,” Chodkowski said, a ratio the city has already surpassed.
Councilwoman Anita Kitchen proposed consideration of a five-year pause, highlighting the city’s current residential development boom, as well as the increase in popularity of electric vehicles.
Credit: Chris Urso
Credit: Chris Urso
At least three multi-family apartment complexes are in the development pipeline, including two on Executive Boulevard and one proposed for the former Marian Meadows site. Leasing has begun on the Hayden Park Apartments, which includes more than 190 units constructed last year at 5599 Huber Road, off Old Troy Pike.
“(A moratorium will allow) these developments time to get residents moved in ... and it also gives us some time to consider if we need these gas stations,” Kitchen said during the work session. “Are things moving more toward electrical cars? Is there a reason to impact the environment if we don’t really need more gas stations, but instead need more charging stations?”
No official action has been taken by Huber Heights council to implement such a ban on fueling centers.
Sorrell, who has decades of experience with city planning and related fields, said the current trend in gas station development in Huber Heights is something he hasn’t seen elsewhere, at least to this extent.
“This is the most interest I’ve seen in my career, as far as convenience store development, in an established community,” he said, adding that developers may see the potential for success in places like Huber Heights and the Dayton region as a whole.
“It’s the entire Miami Valley ... we’re seeing Wawa and Sheetz, and Casey’s — which has been in this market for a while now — entering not only Huber Heights, but also places like Fairborn and Centerville,” Sorrell said. “What we’ve heard from the developers is that they see this (area) as an untapped market where they can bring a product that isn’t currently offered at current, more established convenient stores here.”
In April 2022, Sheetz announced it would enter into western Ohio by opening approximately 20 locations in the Dayton area over the next five years. At that time, Sheetz officials said the company was aiming to open its first Dayton store in 2024.
In Huber Heights, construction is nearing completion for a Sheetz location on the northeast corner of Old Troy Pike and Taylorsville Road. This development is part of a larger plan by Broad Reach Retail Partners to construct a commercial and residential hub at the site of the former Swan Lake Apartments, which were torn down in 2022.
Another Sheetz has been proposed for 8245 Brandt Pike, at the Executive Boulevard intersection.
It’s unclear how the new competition, once open, will affect the existing BP, Speedway, Shell, Sunoco and other stations.
Buc-ee’s has not yet formally begun the process to rezone land on a site located northeast of the I-70 interchange with Ohio 235/Route 4 in Huber Heights. The company is expected to submit an application and basic development plan as early as next week for a 74,000 square-foot store.
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