Mapco has given up its quest to locate a store downtown at the Third and Broadway intersection because the property owner declined to extend his agreement with the company an extra three months. Mapco planned to use that additional time to work with downtown leaders on an acceptable design after many objected to the company's proposal.
The news came to City Hall on Friday via a letter dated Thursday from Mapco's Director of Real Estate Steven Vanden Noven.
"Unfortunately, we have not been successful in our efforts to extend our agreement with the owner of the property for the additional time needed to make these changes and navigate the approval process with the Planning Commission and Board of Directors," Vanden Noven wrote after explaining that the company intended to revise its site layout to better reflect local architecture. "Accordingly, Mapco is formally withdrawing its request for rezoning of the site at this time."
The company, however, hasn't completely given up on locating a gas station and convenience store in downtown Little Rock. The letter, which was addressed to the mayor and Board of Directors, said Mapco will continue its efforts to locate somewhere downtown, but didn't say where or when another proposal might be submitted.
An outbreak of opposition to the gas station being located at Third Street and Broadway appeared just before the Planning Commission took up the issue in May. The commission recommended approval.
Among those against the location were Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley and County Judge Buddy Villines. They cited crime and safety concerns, including a fear that additional traffic to an already busy intersection would cause chaos and accidents.
Vanden Noven had said that the store would serve existing traffic, not bring more to the area, and argued that a lighted gas station was safer than a dark lot with a vacant building.
At the beginning of July, when the Board of Directors was set to vote on Mapco's zoning request that would have allowed the company to proceed with construction, Mapco asked for the issue to be deferred 90 days so that it could invest in more design layouts in an effort to work with board members and others on a plan that would be more acceptable to them.
At that time, the city's Planning and Development Director Tony Bozynski had recommended denial because he said the initial plan wasn't consistent with the current Urban Use zoning, which is meant to be pedestrian friendly.
Bozynski was on vacation Friday, but department Zoning Manager Dana Carney said if Mapco submits a new location, staff members will review it at that time.
Ward 5 Director Lance Hines, who made the motion in July on behalf of Mapco to defer the application, said the gas station and convenience store would have been an asset to downtown, though he noted that other downtown leaders would not agree.
"The whole reason I moved to defer it was they were very sincere in their willingness to try to work on a plan that everyone could agree to. I'm kind of surprised that the land owner decided to do this, but, hey, it is what it is."
Hines said Mapco's business model of moving into a market and delivering low-price fuel in order to boost its convenience store business would have benefited motorists in the downtown area. But Ward 7 Director B.J. Wyrick, who voted against the deferral, is adamant that the store was not good for that location.
"I would not have supported that. There was just too much opposition to it," she said. "That is the gateway to the Robinson Center, the court building there is beautiful, and I just think that the city of Little Rock has got more things they are interested in doing than that."
She added that she does think the downtown area needs more gas stations and that she wouldn't necessarily be opposed to a Mapco gas station at another location.
Vanden Noven's letter Friday said several board members were surprised to learn that the company was open to changing its design and architectural elements to better reflect the zoning standards, and that Mapco had hoped to use the 90 days to work with the staff to put together a new proposal.
The property's owners are Don and Marilyn Aldridge, according to county property assessment records. Don Aldridge, who is the director of acquisitions at the Memphis-based real-estate agency Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc., didn't return a voice message left for him Friday afternoon at his office.
Mayor Mark Stodola was also out of the office Friday and didn't return a call to his cellphone.
Metro on 07/19/2014