As The Jaxson recently reported, Daily’s is planning to build a new gas station on the Broad Street corridor in LaVilla. The current plans are more Gate Parkway than Urban Core, and fall afoul of the City of Jacksonville’s own Downtown Design Guidelines (and common sense planning). As such, the chain would like the Downtown Development Review Board (DDRB) to approve deviations concerning building setbacks, entrances, off-street parking and transparency requirements in the Downtown District Regulations of the city’s Zoning Code.

While these deviations go against ongoing revitalization plans in LaVilla, they would allow the company to construct an 8,770-square-foot Daily’s convenience store, Dash Restaurant/bar and gas station with 16 fueling stations on a block surrounded by Bay, Broad, Forsyth and Jefferson Streets.

Considering plans are currently conceptual, now is a great time to share a few examples of gas station site layouts designed to fit within similar scaled neighborhoods. In what should be a model for Daily’s in LaVilla, here’s a quick look at five real gas stations that were successfully built to properly fit within their surrounding landscape.

1. Piedmont & Dobbs - RaceTrac

120 Piedmont Avenue NE Atlanta, GA 30303

Completed in 2019, this Downtown Atlanta RaceTrac is the first urban designed gas station in Georgia’s largest city. Built on the one-acre site of a former Shell gas station, the new RaceTrac was incorporated into “The Mix”, a 26-story student housing project developed by Atlanta based South City Partners. South City Partners describes themselves as “a fully integrated multi-family development company.” This would be good inspiration for Daily’s, as ongoing plans are to restore Broad Street as a dense, pedestrian-oriented commercial strip.

2. Mixed-Use BP Gas Station

West Highland Avenue at I-43/North-South Freeway Milwaukee, WI

This BP station includes an office component that buffers the auto fueling positions from the street. While we shouldn’t expect Daily’s to turn its gas station into a mixed-use center, this Milwaukee station can serve as a good example of squeezing a gas station into a small site within a walkable neighborhood.

3. Turkey Hill Mini Mart

North High Street at West Dodridge Street Columbus, OH

Columbus has worked hard to create a pretty compelling urban core with smart design and planning, and this gas station by Turkey Hill Mini Mart is no exception. Like the previous examples, fueling lanes are located at the rear of the site. Unlike the other examples, the building’s facade is designed to architecturally complement the historic district it serves. Of interesting note, Turkey Hill Minit Markets is a chain of more than 260 gas station convenience stores in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, owned and operated by Kroger. Despite the chain’s size and influence, the company was still willing to work with the surrounding community to place a product that adds to its surroundings.

4. Moody Triangle BP

1647 North LaSalle Street Chicago, IL 60614

This BP Station at 1647 North LaSalle Street in Chicago’s Moody Triangle area has made its mark through architecture. The station, built in 1971, was originally known as the Archway Standard and Archway Amoco. Occupying a small wedge-shaped piece of land, the ten-pump arched gas station was designed by Chicago architect George W. Terp. Terp designed nearly 14,000 stations in his lifetime.

5. M Street Exxon

2150 M Street NW Washington, DC 20037

This Exxon Mobil gas station, designed by WD Partners, was completed in 2007. The gas station canopy features a green roof. The project was incorporated into 22 West, an upscale condominium community located on the corner of 22nd Street and M Street in Washington, DC’s West End area. 22 West features 92 residences ranging from 948 to 2,480-square-feet.

Considering the examples above, what would you suggest Daily’s and the DDRB do to ensure their project aligns with the overall vision of Downtown and LaVilla as pedestrian-friendly urban districts?

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com.