Circle K ready to reconstruct Wheaton gas station

A Shell gas station at the intersection of Geneva Road and Main Street in Wheaton will likely be demolished soon, after the Wheaton City Council unanimously approved a zoning application Monday that allows for the construction of a new Circle K Heartland.

The gas station, located at 100 West Geneva Road, currently consists of a car wash and a small building closely surrounded by 10 fueling stations: five on the east side of the building and five on the west side.

Developers are proposing demolishing the existing structures and consolidating the current lot with the property that the former, vacant Bakers Square building sits on, at 110 West Geneva Road.

After demolition, a new, 4,300-square-foot convenience store will be constructed slightly southwest of the existing building, with at least 32 parking spots lining the parameter, on the east, west and north sides of the building.

City staff said the applicant was proposing 10 more parking spaces than required for by city code, but Mark Stinson, a real estate development manager for Circle K, said those extra spaces will make a visit to the gas station easier for customers.

"In the convenience business, it's very important to us to have readily accessible parking that's visible from the street," he said. "Every single one of those spaces is valuable to us. We've built many, many stores over the years and we're educated on what makes a good convenience store."

The 10 new fueling stations will be rebuilt just north of the store, under a 160-foot by 40-foot fuel canopy.

In addition, a new car wash will be built just southwest of where it currently stands. A fence will be constructed along the south and west ends of the property, in part to address concerns raised by the owners of a single-family home just west of the property about noise that might be generated by the car wash dryer.