Speedway gas station planned for long-vacant Marathon at Maple and Miller
Speedway wants to demolish a vacant Marathon on the northeast corner of Maple and Miller in Ann Arbor to build a new gas station and convenience store.
Lizzy Alfs | AnnArbor.com
The property - which houses a shuttered 1,365-square-foot gas station on about 1.4 acres - was sold in May from Marathon Petroleum Company LP to Speedway LLC, according to city documents.
The city lists the state equalized value at $344,100 in 2010, making the market value $688,200.
Now, Speedway has submitted site plans to the city of Ann Arbor to demolish the existing building, which was built in 1962, and construct a 3,968-square-foot gas station and convenience store. The plans also include a canopy over the pump island and 18 parking spaces.
Ohio-based Speedway LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Marathon Petroleum Company, and all Speedway locations are corporately operated.
A spokesperson with Speedway could not be reached for comment regarding the site plans.
Other developments at the Maple and Miller intersection include the 2,200-square-foot redeveloped building on the southwest corner, which now houses an under-construction Subway sandwich shop.
Jim Chaconas, a commercial real estate broker who markets the building, said a Speedway would be a nice addition to the intersection, especially with Skyline High School just a mile down the road.
There are eight Speedway locations in Washtenaw County. There is a location a few miles south of the Maple and Miller intersection on West Stadium Boulevard.
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.
Comments
Leah
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 2:01 p.m.
I am seriously excited about this! They have the best Slurpies!!
Usual Suspect
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 12:53 a.m.
Correction - the Subway is NOT under construction. The place still looks exactly like it has the last six years or so.
breadman
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 1:51 a.m.
Back in the days, that what will be subway, Was kirkmans shell station.
justcurious
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 1:05 a.m.
I think the building was just a labor of love for the guy who built it. He may have had some mason roots somewhere. Anyway, when it came time to actually utilize it, he may have felt it was worth a lot more than it is. I would like to see a Greek restaurant in there..maybe carry-out.
Ann English
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:57 p.m.
From what you say, the underground gas tanks apparently were never taken out, unlike those of the former Shell station kitty-corner to it. I remember the Marathon mechanics accepting old car batteries from us and installing new ones. Not expecting that kind of service to return.
NorthMaple
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:36 p.m.
Cancel the Subway; we need a West-side Jimmy John's, instead.
f4phantomII
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 5:59 p.m.
Yup.
Hmm
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 1:44 p.m.
Agreed!
bunnyabbot
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 5:24 a.m.
yes, love the jimmy johns.. subway is nasty
5c0++ H4d13y
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:31 p.m.
That must be the slowest Subway construction I've ever seen.
treetowncartel
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 4:30 a.m.
The Subway at Platt and Packard took about two years.
Joe_Citizen
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:18 p.m.
yeah it is long, long, over do. I grew up three blocks from there.
Jim Walker
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 10:20 p.m.
That is good news, putting a gas station on that "corner" of town. Long time residents will remember that this was the last "full service" station in the city, one where the attendants pumped the gas.
treetowncartel
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 4:30 a.m.
I think Weavers marathon at Packard and Stadium was close to their ending date, now under new ownership. I have fond memories of getting the car gassed up at Toumy Hills by Pete.
Ann English
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:52 p.m.
What are you saying? I thought Mallek's Service at Jackson and Dexter still offered full service, even checking the tire pressure on your wheels. Yes, I know they're a Marathon station. Back in the seventies, canopies were not in vogue, so attendants had to pump gas for you sometimes in the pouring rain.
johnnya2
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:34 p.m.
"how great would that be now?" Well it would not be that great, since if MOST people wanted it, people would still offer it. People traded in full service for cheaper gas prices. I prefer to pump my own gas. I do not need some 18 year old kid saying I need to change my oil or put more washer fluid in.
GirlNextDoor
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:18 p.m.
My teenagers laugh at me when I tell them stories of "full service" gas station attendants when I was their age...how great would that be now?
PLGreen
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 10:08 p.m.
I wonder is Ann Arbor will draw out the permiting process 18-24 months?
Sallyxyz
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 10:07 p.m.
And the connection between Skyline High School a mile away and this new Speedway station is.....? Why was that old Marathon station vacant for so many years?
EyeHeartA2
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 9:17 p.m.
"sold in May from Marathon Petroleum Company LP to Speedway LLC" "Ohio-based Speedway LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Marathon Petroleum Company" So they sold it to themselves?
johnnya2
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:37 p.m.
No, one division sold it to another division. This is very common in business transactions. I work for a large company with multiple divisions. We use other divisions for certain things at times, and we are still required to pay for those services in the same way they pay us. Financial performance at Speedway does not help the Marathon guys and vice versa
smokeblwr
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 9:45 p.m.
That's how these 1%ers stay ahead of the rest of us with creative accounting.
dogpaddle
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 8:44 p.m.
Good thing A2 isn't Pittsfield Twp or the Speedway might get turned down at selling beer at their convenience store (like they did to Costco). While having a gas station there (or any business) will be convenient, it's too bad the old Marathon with it's fully functional garage and knowledgeable mechanics isn't still there. Does any one know where the mechanics went when after the place closed? It was so sudden it seemed.
townie54
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:13 p.m.
the big guy works at Ash auto in manchester on m52 north of town.Darn how could I have forgot his name in just 3 or 4 years
dogpaddle
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 9:10 p.m.
Thanks, blahblahblah.
blahblahblah
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 8:57 p.m.
A couple years ago I thought I saw one of the mechanics (big, bearded fellow) at the place across from Big City Small World Bakery.
bunnyabbot
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 8:40 p.m.
you can all thank me, I have been writing Speedway emails for several years about doing something on that corner! The final one I wrote in probably in August letting them know I was disgusted with the condition of the corner and how it would make sense for them to (finally) get a station open there, there isn't another station within a mile. I love Speedway with thier discount gas program and the coffee selection. I am an avid speedy point user, I have to buy gas anyway so I might as well "earn" some free gift cards.
bunnyabbot
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 5:22 a.m.
@ann I frequented both the shell station and marathon before they both closed. I believe shell closed because they had the other station on the busier corner of jackson and maple. Marathon closed because I think that Mr Fox wanted to retire and his sons didn't want to take it over or they all just wanted to do something else. It might have also been that it was time for the pumps and tanks to be upgraded and they didn't want to put the money into it. Not having a gas station on the corner has effected many area residents who had the convenience for so long. Also, if Speedway opens than maybe the strip mall there will get some more life in it and finally someone will lease that darn pretty looking building where shell use to be. It's been for lease for a long long time. It must be a tax write off for the owner who spent a good deal and years upon years working on it. I think also the overgrown lot on the last unused corner is for sale for commercial developement. (although I am ok with that never being built on and having it stay a brumble weed mess). I didn't complain when the marathon closed, the men who worked it and they all worked really long hours, deserved to move on if that is what they chose to do. The gas wasn't priced high (plymouth road is high!), it was priced normally, almost always priced lower than Jackson/maple and always less than the station at catherine/main and since they were all mechanics anyone of them were able to answer a question and they always reconized their customers.
Ann English
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:44 p.m.
I wonder if you're the one who expressed disappointment at the closure of the Marathon station, for it was at a convenient location prior to getting onto Maple and getting onto eastbound M-14 from there. Whoever expressed that nostalgia also said that the gasoline there wasn't the cheapest around, but just the same, convenient.
bunnyabbot
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 10:54 p.m.
I am motivated to not have to drive to Jackson and Maple to use that Shell station that is a poorly run dump, not to mention a traffic snaggle most of the day. Pretty much every gas station on the way to work is out of the way so filling up is done while in another neighborhood running errands. also I emailed Speedway and when I did the fill in blanks requested my speedway rewards card. Just by writing them an email they gave me 1800 points, buhahahaha.
smokeblwr
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 9:44 p.m.
Thanks bunny! I wish all of us had the motiviation and foresight to do what you did,.
jns131
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 9:11 p.m.
Speedway is not the best gas in town for an automobile. I avoid it like the plague. I don't need water in the tank. As for Tim Hortons? Now that I can handle. A bagel and coffee.
bunnyabbot
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 8:59 p.m.
I guess all my eager emails to both speedway and tim hortons over the years have paid off, I am so happy I will get both of them so close to home :)
Elaine F. Owsley
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 8:18 p.m.
Great. Nothing worse than a big, empty building collection on any highly traveled cross streets. Can't say the Audi store parking lot, usually mostly empty, does a lot for the next one, but at least it's not an empty building.
smokeblwr
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 9:43 p.m.
They ARE both German....coincidence?
justcurious
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 8:33 p.m.
Oh, you mean the ALDI store parking lot on Dexter and Maple.
Hmm
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 7:37 p.m.
Anybody want to make a bet on which opens first between this speedway and the mythical Subway chain across the street?
jns131
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 9:09 p.m.
At the same time. Once that monster opens? Subway will be getting the food end of the business. That is going to be a traffic nightmare out there. Glad I am not living out in that end.
Bertha Venation
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 7:26 p.m.
Geez! Opened in 1962? Where does the time go? I remember when my classmate, Jim Fox had that gas station. Before that his Dad had the Gulf Station on Dexter and Maple, next to Murphy's Market and the Evergreen Tavern, which are all now the Urgent Care Center. Best of luck. That corner needs a face lift.
WalkingJoe
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 4:01 a.m.
Ann English, I grew in that area in the 60's and yes there was a Gulf gas station on the northwest corner, a Sinclair station on the northeast corner, the Washtenaw Milk Depot on the southwest corner and of course Vets Park has always been on the northeast corner. My Dad was friends with Jim Fox Sr. who owned the Gulf station and worked part time pumping gas for him and then both of us did at the Marathon station later.
justcurious
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 12:58 a.m.
Yes Ann, it was Jack's Service. He serviced big trucks.
Ann English
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:37 p.m.
There was a Gulf station once at Dexter and Maple? I remember a Jack O'Connor who had a Sinclair gas station there, then it became an ARCO gas station, and finally a place to buy used cars.
justcurious
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 8:31 p.m.
Yes, before it was a gas station Read's Store was up on a hill there. No strip mall then either. That station has been empty for many years now. The new one will be 3 times the size. That seems really large.