Rejected in 2023, Columbia board approves N. Main gas station, residents opposed
For decades, neighbors along North Main Street have looked at the busy Sunset Drive intersection and imagined something more than another place for cars to pull in and out of.
Talk of a redevelopment that would help shift the corridor toward something more walkable, vibrant and connected has percolated for years — a vision reinforced by city design plans, a major streetscaping project and fresh retail momentum bringing new restaurants, cafes and other small businesses that have slowly reshaped parts of North Main.
But now plans are moving forward to allow a large Murphy Oil USA gas station and convenience store at that corner, despite resident pushback and the rejection of similar plans two years ago.
Residents say there are already too many gas stations and convenience stores in the corridor, and that allowing another one defeats the ideals laid out in the city’s 2005 master plan for the Villages of North Columbia. The developer behind the Murphy project contends this project adds something different to the area.
“Twenty years ago, they were saying, ‘Let’s do something with that corner that’s more than putting some automotive infrastructure on it.’” said Bob Petrulis, president of the Hyatt Park / Keenan Terrace Neighborhood Association.
“We need the kind of retail, the kind of things that would bring people out of their cars onto the street and make this a much more livable, community-focused corner,” Petrulis said. “So I don’t think we need to settle, and I think this would be settling.”
About a dozen residents spoke against the gas station plans at a Thursday Board of Zoning Appeals meeting, but despite those concerns, the city board narrowly approved the project in a 3-2 vote, setting the stage for the new 2,800-square-foot Murphy gas station and convenience store at the often-congested corner.
That approval also came despite the same board in 2023 unanimously rejecting similar plans for a Circle K gas station at the corner.
Developer Jason Stern acknowledged residents’ concerns Thursday but said the new Murphy gas station would be a “top tier’ facility and add value to the area.
Developer says Murphy plan is different from past gas station pitch
The Murphy project would fill the 3.3-acre lot at the Sunset Drive and North Main Street intersection with a 16-pump gas station, plus new sidewalks and landscaping at the corner.
To gain approval, developers had to make promises around loitering and litter control, crime prevention and neighborhood communication.
Stern told zoning officials Thursday that the caliber of the project is “apples to oranges” compared to what Circle K presented in 2023.
“Murphy is a far superior product, a far superior operator,” Stern said, adding that the new Murphy location could also raise the standards for other gas station/convenience stores in the area.
There are at least four gas station/convenience stores within one mile of the new Murphy location, but Stern said the Murphy project would be vastly different from what already exists in the corridor.
“Every one of these four convenience stores within a mile all share very similar characteristics,” he said. “They’re very old, they’re unsightly, and you can tell that there’s been no reinvestment in these properties in probably decades.”
The site in question contains two buildings and a tract of vacant land. Stern said the existing title and loan office at the corner of Sunset Drive and North Main Street would be demolished to make way for the new gas station – another way the Murphy project would be different from the Circle K proposal. The 2023 gas station plans would have seen Circle K develop around the existing title and loan office.
Residents call it a step backward for the corridor
Zoning officials heard nearly an hour of testimony Thursday from area residents who urged the board to reject the plans. Opponents to the gas station plans argued that the proposal conflicts with long-standing goals for the corridor, and even sets the district back in those efforts.
“We are poised to make this gateway intersection something special, allowing a major convenience store and gas station would be a step backward,” said Basil Garzia, a longtime Hyatt Park/Keenan Terrace resident.
Millions of dollars have gone toward making the North Main corridor look and feel more appealing to residents and small businesses. A decade ago leaders began a $50 million effort to beautify the corridor with new sidewalks, asphalt, landscaping and more. A $1.5 million upgrade to Hyatt Park followed. As have a laundry list of new businesses.
At the same time the corridor is growing and evolving, longtime residents have specifically raised alarms about nuisance convenience stores where they say patrons loiter to drink single-serve beer cans.
Last year, residents and law enforcement successfully lobbied for the former Obama Mart (currently a Valero gas station) at 5831 N. Main St. to have its permits to sell alcohol revoked. A judge agreed with residents and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, which reported there were close to 400 calls for service at the Valero station over a year and a half.
After that ruling, the business continued to sell alcohol, leading to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division raiding the store in September and seizing all of its alcohol stock.
That store is about 3 miles up North Main Street from the proposed Murphy station. But residents say their concern over convenience stores isn’t only about bad actors, but also over concerns that having too many gas stations and convenience stores will only hamper the corridor’s energy.
“There is no real difference in circumstances between the time that the Circle K proposal was rejected, and now,” Petrulis said.
The Murphy gas station will still need approval from the city’s Design/Development Review Commission for the design of the project.
