New owner says change really is coming to long-closed gas station in South Richland
An eyesore gas station in south Richland is ready to be transformed with new development.
The former Circle K gas station and convenience store at Gage Boulevard and Leslie Road will be demolished and the property redeveloped, said Lance Bacon, a real estate broker whose team spent four years working to acquire the site.
Bacon said that’s how long it took to remove the four underground tanks that once served an Exxon station and to clean up contaminants that leaked into the soil and ground water.
The Washington Department of Ecology confirmed the property is clean in a letter to the former owner, Circle K Inc., last July. Bacon’s team closed a deal to buy the 0.4-acre property about two months ago.
This week, public interest in the high-profile parcel revived when the new owners agreed to sell about 1,000 square feet along the two streets to the city of Richland.
The city needs slices of land to upgrade the sidewalks and make the busy intersection at Gage and Leslie intersection more accessible. It agreed to pay $50,000 for the land along the streets in a deal approved by the city council on Tuesday.
That sets the stage to do something new on the smaller parcel.
Bacon said it isn’t big enough for a restaurant, but it could be suited for a coffee shop or other use. Roasters Coffee eyed the site in 2019 but never executed on the plan before a series of ownership changes transformed the former local chain into Wake Up Call Coffee.
Bacon said 1,300-square-foot convenience store will be demolished in early 2024. He is soliciting bids from contractors now. Weeds and debris will be cleaned up.
The four fuel tanks were removed in March and April 2019, according to Washington Department of Ecology records. Gasoline, benzene and related contaminants were found in the soil and ground water, the state agency said.
The Pollution Liability Insurance agency determined no further action was required at the site in December 2021 and it entered the voluntary cleanup program for evaluation of arsenic and lead contamination in July 2022.
Six groundwater monitoring wells were sealed in August 2023, freeing it for redevelopment.
The property has a taxable value of $550,000, according to Benton County records.
This story was originally published January 8, 2024 at 5:00 AM.