A local businessman is seeking to rezone a Franconia property to make way for Fairfax County’s second Sheetz location.
Basim Mansour, who owns the home improvement company Michael and Sons, petitioned county officials earlier this month to approve his plan, which replaces two “underperforming” office buildings with the gas station and convenience store chain.
Before the project can move forward, however, the targeted properties — located at 5505 and 5515 Cherokee Avenue — must be rezoned from an industrial district to a commercial one.
Formerly home to MindShift Gym, a parkour-focused fitness center that relocated to Reston, the approximately 1.58-acre site was nominated last year for a comprehensive plan amendment to allow redevelopment for retail. The county’s plan currently recommends industrial or office uses on the parcels.
According to a real estate attorney representing Mansour, who owns both properties, adding a Sheetz would not only provide a 24-hour source of warm food and convenience items that is “currently lacking in the area,” but it would also increase competition in hopes of lowering gas prices.
“The proposed development would offer goods and services needed by residents, local employees and commuters and promote county goals of access and economic opportunity,” Roth Jackson counsel Ashley Kyle wrote in an April 3 statement to county officials.
Accordingly, Mansour is also seeking special exemptions to nearly double the retail space allowed by the county’s zoning ordinance and to allow for the preparation of food, which is typically barred in establishments primarily categorized as “vehicle fueling stations.”
Combining convenience store and carryout restaurant services, the main building would total approximately 4,966 square feet and be supported by 41 vehicle parking spaces, along with two spaces for bicycles. Twelve fueling positions are proposed for the gas station, according to the rezoning application.
Visits to the site are expected to increase, with a transportation study estimating more than 2,500 additional daily trips on weekdays compared to the existing office buildings. That would include the 30 to 35 employees that Sheetz anticipates adding for the location.
The application says, however, that there will be “ample clearance” around both the fueling station and the retail building as well as “safe turning lanes” from adjacent roads to facilitate both internal traffic and drivers entering and exiting.
“The convenience store plans are made to minimize the potential for turning point conflicts and to promote safe vehicle and pedestrian access to all uses on site,” Kyle wrote.
No timeline is known for the project. The rezoning application hasn’t been officially accepted for review yet by county staff, and the plan amendment is currently in Tier 2 of the county’s work program, meaning it will be evaluated “as staff resources are available.”
Both requests must face public hearings before the county’s planning commission and Board of Supervisors, with the latter responsible for the final votes. In addition, the office buildings that remain on the site must be demolished before construction can begin.
If the project is ultimately approved, Franconia will join Herndon as the only two Fairfax County localities with a Sheetz. The Herndon location opened in 2023.
The proposed Sheetz expansion is expected to trigger a bit of competition with the similar convenience store/gas station chain Wawa, which currently has four locations across the county.
