Site work is about to get underway on a long-vacant parcel in Burlington that was rezoned for a new Sheetz gas station more than a decade ago.
The site had originally been rezoned by an earlier developer, Ed Tam, for a commercial project that was once to have been anchored by a new Aldi grocery store. Tam adjusted his plans in 2015 in order to set aside the high-visibility spot on the corner for an unspecified gas station that happened to boast the footprint of Sheetz’ “neighborhood” model.
Graham-based developer Shawn Cummings subsequently acquired the 7.54-acre site for $2.9 million through his company, Venn University, in April 2019.
The developer currently has three building permits in the hopper for this property, which is situated on the southeast corner of University Drive and South Church Street. The company’s permit applications, which were filed on March 6, call for the construction of “new Sheetz convenience store with automotive fuel sales” on this 7.54-acre parcel.
The latest plans for the property call for the construction of a concrete pad (foundation) on which a developer for Sheetz will build the gas station and convenience store, Cummings confirmed Wednesday for The Alamance News.
It will mark the third Sheetz location in Burlington and its fifth in Alamance County.
“The entire project is nine to 12 months, but we’re going to try to get the Sheetz site a lot faster,” Cummings said in the interview Wednesday. “We’re hoping for four to five months on their site, and nine to 12 on the entire site, including the lights, which is the biggest piece.”
Nolan Kirkman, who retired several years ago as the assistant city manager for Burlington and went to work for Cummings’ development company Venn Terra, where he now serves as its president, said in the interview Wednesday that Venn Terra will have to install a mast pole, which will need to be ordered and manufactured.
“We are modifying the signal across from Lowes Foods [at 1191 University Drive], and we will add a mast arm across our side,” Kirkman explained. “On the other side of [Highway 70], that’s a new traffic signal that we are going to install that will have metal strain poles. The signal is going to help, especially for folks coming out of Twin Lakes.”
The road improvements – including construction of internal roads and installation of traffic signals – had to be completed as part of the permitting process, Kirkman said.
The start of construction has been delayed while waiting on DOT to widen Church Street through the intersection going west on Highway 70, past University Drive, and adding a turn lane going south on University, Cummings said in an earlier interview.
In addition to a new Sheetz location, the preliminary site plan for the commercial project at University Drive and South Church Street includes three “outparcel areas,” which could be subdivided if needed, based on the current conditional zoning designation, based on a sketch of the site that Venn Terra previously furnished for the newspaper.
Construction is targeted for substantial completion by the first quarter of 2027, Kirkman told the newspaper Wednesday.
