Ravensworth Shell Gets OK From Fairfax County To Add Convenience Store

SPRINGFIELD, VA — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a special exception amendment that will allow the owners of the Ravensworth Shell station on Braddock Road to convert the existing repair bays into a convenience store.

The applicant, Capital Services Inc., intends to keep the existing fuel pumps and canopy, replace the four-bay vehicle service area with a convenience store, and add a small second floor office. Both the fuel pumps and convenience store would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Capital Services Inc. said it wanted to make the changes to the Ravensworth Shell station, located in the Ravensworth Shopping Center, in part because customers now expect that a gas station will have an associated convenience store.

Also, there is less need for auto service because other facilities in the area provide service and inspections. And repair service has become more complicated because vehicles have become increasingly computerized, the company added.

At the Oct. 25 meeting where the Board of Supervisors approved the application, Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw noted that the application to convert the service bays into a convenience store was not perfect.

But the gas station owners and the county made "significant strides toward a solution that allows the station owner to make the changes he desires while making marked improvements in traffic flow and on environmental issues," Walkinshaw said in the November issue of his monthly newsletter.

One of the primary concerns associated with the site was traffic. The station is located near the intersection of two major transportation corridors: Braddock Road and Interstate 495. The conversion of the service station bays to a convenience store is projected to increase daily traffic at the site by 900 cars, according to Fairfax County.

The Ravensworth Shell station owners worked with the staff of the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development and the Virginia Department of Transportation to improve safety for vehicles and pedestrians at the location, Walkinshaw said.

The entrance to the gas station on Port Royal Road nearest Braddock Road will remain to allow fuel trucks to access the station’s underground tanks, but will be narrowed and restricted to incoming access only. According to the amendment approved by the Board of Supervisors, the second entrance will be re-striped to better direct shopping center and gas station traffic.

The station has been owned and operated by the Harrell family for more than six decades. The current building was constructed in 1967 and renovated in 1984.

A number of development conditions were included in the amendment approved by the Board of Supervisors to address concerns. A dedicated loading space was added on the east side of the building. Space and infrastructure for one electric vehicle charging station will be provided, and the roof will be designed to accommodate future installation of solar panels.

Ravensworth Shell also agreed to move its existing curb and gutter along the front of the station out of the VDOT right-of-way and onto station property. The gas station will also provide temporary construction easements along the Braddock Road side of the station for construction of a pedestrian and bicycle trail as part of the future Braddock Road Multimodal Improvement Project.

Other changes to the gas station will include adding landscaped islands and outdoor seating, widening the sidewalk along Port Royal Road, and adding a crosswalk at the second entrance on Port Royal Road.