Council Approves Shell Station Redevelopment

Alexandria City Council approved Saturday the redevelopment of the Shell station located at 5740 Edsall Road.

The redevelopment plan includes a 3,000-square-foot convenience store, a 1,100-square-foot car wash and an increase in the number of gas pumps from four to six. The underground gas tanks on the site, which has housed a gas station since the early 1960s, will be reoriented to accommodate the renovation. New canopies will also be installed.  

The redevelopment of the Shell site also aims to alleviate issues at the busy intersection of Edsall Road and South Van Dorn Street with a new layout and streetscape improvements. The plan offers 30 feet of right-of-way on South Van Dorn Street to be dedicated to the city for future roadway improvements, including the potential installation of high-capacity transit.

The city’s planning staff said it believed the proposal is an appropriate interim use of the site until the full redevelopment of the Landmark-Van Dorn Plan is contemplated. 

In a March meeting with the Cameron Station Civic and Community Association, residents expressed concerns that the addition of a car wash and convenience store at the site may increase congestion in the area.

Councilmembers said Saturday that the carwash is an ancillary use. Gas customers will be able to purchase a wash at the pump. Ingress and egress to the carwash will be constructed to enable vehicles to circulate without disrupting the function of the convenience store or fuel pump customers.

“It’s a much more attractive facility with the landscaping you’re going to do,” Vice Mayor Kerry Donely said. “It’s an improvement. … People need to buy gas.”

Staff said it believed the addition of the carwash and convenience store would create small impacts on traffic.

The station will be marked with a monument-style sign no greater than 6 feet.