Arlington Heights gas station looking to reopen

BP officials are working to reopen the shuttered gas station at the northwest corner of Arlington Heights and Algonquin roads.

This week some Arlington Heights plan commissioners heard plans to demolish the former Higgley's restaurant and BP gas station to make room for a new BP station. The 14-pump gas station would include a self-serve car wash, said Walter Hainsfurther, the project's architect. The gas station's convenience store would be 2,900 square feet and the car wash would be 1,200 square, according to a village memo. Plans don't include a dinning area inside the convenience store.

The existing BP gas station at the corner closed in 2006. Later that year, gas station representatives submitted plans for a new gas station but those plans were eventually "mothballed," Hainsfurther said.

"It was a business decision," he said. "Many oil companies were closing their smaller locations. Now they are cherry picking their best sites and investing in those."

Village planner Kate Lockerby voiced some concerns about the 24-hour car wash because of the site's proximity to a nearby hotel. Hainsfurther said he'd work with Lockerby to figure out a solution.

The new BP station still needs approval from the full plan commission and eventually the village board. Village planners said they were "generally supportive" of the plan this week, but added they needed more information before giving the plan commission an official recommendation.

No timeline has been set for the project, Hainsfurther said after Wednesday's meeting.