Safeway fuel station, convenience store set for Queen Creek

A fuel station and convenience store accompanying a Safeway supermarket are coming to Riggs and Gary roads.

The Queen Creek Town Council unanimously approved a conditional-use permit and site plan for the fuel station and convenience store during its Wednesday meeting.

The Safeway fuel service station will have a 4,320-square-foot fuel canopy with six fueling pumps and a 3,083-square-foot convenience store about 400 feet west of the southwest corner of Riggs and Gary roads in the Harvest Station commercial center.

The fuel station and convenience store will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The permit and site plan requests were made by Ralph Pew of the law firm of Pew and Lake on behalf of Albertsons/Safeway.

In 2016, the town annexed 429 acres from Maricopa County for commercial development. Originally, the site was going to be developed as an open-air mall.

“Those of us who have been here for a while do remember that the outdoor open-air mall similar to SanTan Village  was going to land at that very corner,” Council Member Jeff Brown said before the vote. “It wasn’t that Queen Creek sent such a concept packing. Instead, e-commerce really started to take off hot and heavy and so SanTan Village basically ended up the last open-air mall that we’re going to see for many years to come, if ever.

“I’m pleased that we will still have some retail or are already getting some retail on this corner.”

Harvest Station was going to have two “mini” anchor stores at almost 58,000 square feet combined, 16,080 square feet of shops, one drive-thru pad, two buildings at the Riggs and Gary roads intersection, as well as the convenience store and fuel station.

In July 2023, the developer submitted an amended site plan to consolidate the two small anchor stores into one large store for the Safeway. Plans for the fuel station and convenience store were not changed. The amendment was approved by the town in September.

“The site is oriented to locate the rear of the convenience store closest to the adjacent residential community and the fuel pumping stations furthest away from the residential development, screening pumping and lighting from the fuel canopy,” a staff report stated.

The fuel canopy is about 190 feet from the nearest residential property to the west, the report continued. The developer will be making landscaping improvements along Riggs Road north of the site.

“Screen walls are located along Riggs Road to shield vehicle headlights and screen fuel pumping stations,” the report stated.

The fuel service station must still receive additional permitting approval through other county and state agencies such as the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

On Nov. 19, a neighborhood meeting was held in which 10 residents voiced concerns about “homeless individuals and the impact to the residential community, proximity of two gas stations, health concerns, lighting spillover into the residential community, property values, and traffic from the shopping center,” the report stated.

The developer agreed to increase the wall height between an existing retention basin and the commercial site and add trees to buffer the view of the fuel station from the homes to the west.

“There will be at least two employees in the store at all times which will not only allow for customer service, but also for site maintenance, surveillance and behavior control,” the developer told town staff as part of its application.

There’s no word yet on when construction will begin.

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