The third Alberni Co-op gas bar broke ground last month, after two years of planning.
The new co-op is being built on 10th Avenue, just behind the Tim Hortons drive-thru—the first mid-block gas station backing onto a residential area that the city has seen in some time.
“The board decided this side of town could use some representation; make ourselves convenient to our membership,” president Jim Creighton said. The co-op also has gas bars with convenience stores on Johnston Road and Beaver Creek Road.
At one time, the 10th Avenue and Redford Street corner boasted three gas bars: now there are none. The only gas stations on the south side of town are Esso on Redford Street and Husky on Third Avenue.
Once finished the gas bar will feature four pumps and eight lanes as well as a convenience store. “Definitely bigger than Johnston Road—I think it will be the biggest of what we have,” Dol said.
Ray Dol was president of the co-op two years ago when the board brought plans before the City of Port Alberni’s advisory planning committee, and said the co-op had been looking for a suitable location in South Port for the entire 18 years he had been on the board.
Doll, still a board member and also a contractor, is busy leveling the property with heavy equipment, which called for digging out the plot of land on 10th Avenue—approximately four legal parcels. Another 7,000 tonnes of fill will be trucked in before actual construction can begin, Dol explained.
Dol hopes the gas bar and store will be finished by fall 2017.