Proposed gas station brings controversy to Historic Downtown Mobile
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — A Murphy USA gas station may be coming to downtown Mobile, but not without a fight.
Murphy USA submitted a plan to the City of Mobile to build a 2,824-square-foot gas station with eight fueling stations, replacing the empty CVS Pharmacy on the corner of Government Street and Broad Street.
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However, that location falls in the Oakleigh Garden Historic District in downtown Mobile.
“What is the use of having a historic district if we are going to allow any type of structure to be built within those districts,” Government Street Collaborative Senior Advocate Bill Boswell said.
The Government Street Collaborative is a group of residents who seek to maintain the integrity of historical Downtown Mobile.
“On this historic spot, where the world comes to see Mardi Gras on this corner every year, they would be looking at a gas station, and it’s just not the vision that Mayor Stimpson, the city council and the people of this historic district want to send to the world,” Boswell said.
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That vision stems from the TIGER grant, a project that began in 2017 by the City of Mobile to beautify and maintain Mobile’s historic neighborhoods.
Monday night, the Government Street Collaborative gathered to brainstorm a way to prevent the gas station from developing.
“If we want anything, if we have hopes of a productive development there the last thing, we want frankly is a gas station,” Oakleigh Garden Historic District resident Joseph Brennan said.
The gas station not only raises residents’ concerns about the physical appearance but also the environmental aspect.
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“Once a gas station goes in somewhere, it’s very hard to get it out,” Brennan said. “The next owner would be forced to pull the tanks out of the ground and frankly it is unlikely it is cost-prohibited for anyone who wants to buy a former gas station. Often, it just sits empty as a vacant gas station.”
The City of Mobile told News 5 that for the past 50 years, the property has been zoned for commercial use, and a gas station would meet that criteria.
However, because the gas station would fall in a historical district, the city’s Architectural Review Board would have to approve the project including the vision of the physical appearance before the city can grant a building permit.
The ARB plans to review the proposal on Jan. 3.
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“If we put something like this here it not only defaces the appearance of this corner for right now but for years and years to come,” Leinkauf Historic District resident Melissa Gillis said.
WKRG reached out to the developer multiple times but did not receive a response.
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