The Historic and Design Review Commission reviewed plans Wednesday for the dilapidated Citgo/Sunglo gas station and convenience store in Southtown. Design renderings outline a more modern, welcoming structure, outdoor patio, and space for a food truck.
Unlike the Citgo store, the “Sit-Go Superette” – as it is referred to in documents submitted to the City – will not be a gas station or a typical convenience store.
“We feel that the old Citgo was a blight on the neighborhood. And we feel that our deli-bodega-icehouse idea will be much more in tune with the desires and psychography of the neighborhood,” stated property owner James Lifshutz in a text to the Rivard Report. Lifshutz owns the nearby Blue Star Arts Complex and other downtown properties. “I am super excited about the project because it removes something horrible and puts something terrific in its place.”
Alamo Architects is working on the design. A tenant/operator of the store has not yet been selected.
The gas tanks and fueling canopy were removed from the lot at 1203 S. Alamo St. soon after the store closed last year, allowing the space to be used for overflow parking for Frank restaurant and venue across the street, a pop-up art gallery, and First Friday vendors and entertainers.
The store is located in the largely-residential King William Historic District, part of the burgeoning Southtown Arts District. The area has seen millions of dollars of private investment in high-density housing and mixed-use projects in recent years, including Blue Star, Flats at Big Tex (also owned by Lifshutz), the former Lone Star Brewery redevelopment, Southtown Flats, and more.
