Sheetz planned for Red Lobster site on Rio Road East

A major chain of convenience stores has filed plans with Albemarle County to build a location at 1648 Rio Road East within the boundaries of Fashion Square Mall.

Staff in the Community Development Department are reviewing an initial site plan for a Sheetz Automobile Service Station at the site of a former Red Lobster built in 2010. Home Depot bought the property in June 2024.

Sheetz has a few locations in the area already including Store #728 at 3510 Seminole Trail in the Hollymead area, Store #238 at 7020 Seminole Trail in Ruckersville, and Store #491 at Zion Crossroads.

While the initial site plan itself is not in the Civic Access portal, we can learn that the single story building will be 6,132 square feet and will sit on 2.07 acres.

The project is within an Entrance Corridor so it will need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Architectural Review Board and Civic Access tells us that staff review of that application will begin on May 11.

A pre-application meeting was held in December and materials available in Civic Access list five design elements quoted below:

• The building is oriented and positioned toward Rio Road to reinforce the streetscape
• Fuel pumps are placed behind the building to reduce visibility from the corridor
• Pedestrian circulation is provided throughout and around the site, with connections to existing walkways
• A dining area is located at the Rio Road/Mall Drive corner to activate the intersection
• Architectural features along the entrance corridor have been enhanced to meet ARB design guidelines.

In August 2024, Albemarle County approved a $750,000 tax incentive package for Home Depot to build a new store on the site of what used to be a Sears at Fashion Square Mall. That will take the form of real property tax rebates over ten years if the terms of a performance agreement with the Albemarle County Economic Development Authority.

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