Residents of the historic Lavaca neighborhood thought they had dodged a bullet in 2021 when the owners of a franchise convenience store decided not to build there.
Then recently, a Fuel Time sign appeared overnight.
A recent state filing shows construction is expected to start on a 7,500-square-foot convenience store at 418 Florida St. in January. The owner’s name is listed as Avaish Maknojia.
Now the neighbors are banding together and asking questions about those plans, which they say will take place too near their homes and pose safety risks.
“That’s a residential zone, and a gas station is legal for that zone of the lot, but the surrounding area is not compatible with that,” said Melissa Stendahl, president of the Lavaca Neighborhood Association.
It’s a familiar story for the neighborhood. Once home to a Fleet vehicle fueling station that presented a host of problems for homeowners in the area, three years ago, a 7-Eleven store was slated for the site. Lavaca residents started a petition against the project, which the developers failed to get approval for at the Historic and Design Review Commission.
In recent years, the neighborhood association has met with other entities looking to develop the property. Stendahl said the group favored a car wash proposal but that was never completed and she’s unsure of the reason.
The property is owned by an entity known as KEM, Texas Ltd. which lists the principal as Paul Covey, a partner in GrayStreet Partners. Covey did not respond to a request for information about the property and whether it has been sold or leased to Maknojia.
Maknojia told the Report that he is one of several owners who have acquired the property and plans are moving forward to get financing and build a gas station.
He then referred all other questions to an individual in “operations.” Reached by phone, that person declined to give any details.
Zoned commercial
Located south of Hemisfair, Lavaca is one of the city’s oldest residential neighborhoods and a designated historic district consisting of small homes built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some commercial buildings are located along the western edge of the district.
While the 1-acre property is situated along the Interstate 37 frontage road on the eastern edge of the district and is zoned commercial, it sits adjacent to single-family homes between two one-way streets.
A gas station and convenience store is at odds with SA Tomorrow plans for the area, which call for walkability and preservation of the city’s historic neighborhoods, Stendahl said.
“It prioritizes passers-by, and there are health and safety concerns without having any buffer between residences — and that includes noise and light as well,” she said.
But they also don’t want the site to remain vacant. Residents who live near the property called the number on the sign and invited Maknojia to a recent meeting to learn more about his plans.
The owners’ representative showed the residents a site plan for the convenience store that indicates three entry and exit points — on both Carolina and Florida streets and on the frontage road — and vehicle bays with six gas pumps.
Hilda Juarez, whose home is across Florida Street from the site, said the owner did not seem receptive to their ideas for the property or their concerns.
The neighborhood does not need a gas station, as one already exists across the highway, Juarez said at the meeting. What they need is a small grocery store.
“They kept telling us that, ‘We’ll have groceries. We’ll have Hot Pockets. We’ll have cold sandwiches,’ but that’s not what we’re looking for,” Juarez said. “We want fruit, we want vegetables.”
They’re also opposed to the idea that a fast-food restaurant could be part of the development. “We like local businesses — bringing in a Little Caesars or Burger King or whatever else they were proposing is just not something that we frequent,” Juarez said.
Residents worry
The developer offered to build a wall separating the store from the houses, she said, which Juarez expects could create a gap in the fencing and attract vagrancy.
She said the residents also worry about how signage and lighting on the site will affect them along with traffic coming off the highway, and if the store would be open 24 hours a day.
When the neighborhood organized against the 7-Eleven convenience store, the councilman at the time also stepped in to support them, Juarez said. She’s hoping for the same this time around.
District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur said in a statement emailed to the Report that her office has been notified about the neighborhood’s concerns.
“We have contacted the property owner to convey the neighborhood requests and concerns and have helped broker conversations,” she stated. “Although the council doesn’t have authority on this decision, we are doing everything we can to support our District 1 residents in Lavaca with this matter.”
In the meantime, Lavaca residents are posting signs in their yards to let the developer know they don’t want the convenience store. There aren’t many other avenues they can take to influence what happens there, they said.
“It’s not personal, it could be any gas station convenience store,” Stendahl said. “It’s just objectively a poor fit.”
