Q: Did the gas station at the corner of Everglades and Oil Well ever get approved? If it did, do you know what station is being built? Did the gas station at Oil Well and Hawthorn by the new Publix get final approval and, if it did, is it still a Circle K? Any more information about other tenants that might occupy the area by Hawthorn and Oil Well besides Publix, 5/3 bank and the apartments would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for all your knowledge about what is being built in Collier County! – Scott Bohm, Golden Gate Estates

A: New gas stations planned along Oil Well Road in Golden Gate Estates have not been formally proposed yet, but preliminary plans show that a couple of them are being considered for new development projects.

In January, 7-Eleven purchased three residential lots on the northwest corner of Oil Well and Everglades Boulevard, Collier County property records show, but the Texas-based company has yet to file documents to rezone the property for commercial use or to propose a site development plan for a convenience store and gas pumps there. At one point, a conceptual plan showed that Circle K had planned a 5,200-square-foot store, gas pumps, a 4,490-square-foot, 125-foot tunnel car wash and a stormwater pond, but those plans were cancelled. While the property has been acquired by 7-Eleven, Circle K is looking to land about 1.5 miles west at an outparcel at the Shoppes at Orange Blossom.

While still in a pre-application stage, an early conceptual site plan shows that Circle K proposes a 2.13-acre outparcel site on the northeast corner of Oil Well Road and Big Corkscrew Drive, a new intersection that will lead to the entrance of Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park. The preliminary plan shows a 4,000-square-foot convenience store fronted by six dual-sided gasoline fueling dispensers.

East of the proposed site for the gas station, plans for a few other outparcels already are under review by the county. Plans submitted for three buildings include a restaurant drive-thru, a drive-thru coffeehouse, a dental office and a tire service store. Architectural plans filed with the county in February show that those proposed businesses are Chipotle Mexican Grill, Starbucks, Heartland Dental and Mavis Tires & Brakes.

Plans for a more than 2,300-square-foot Chipotle freestanding restaurant show indoor and outdoor seating and a “Chipotlane” pick-up window. Plans submitted for Mavis Tires & Brakes include a 3,124-square-foot service area, a 1,886-square-foot tire storage area and a 1,377-square-foot showroom in a freestanding building. A third building will be shared by a 2,313-square-foot Starbucks drive-thru and a 4,260-square-foot dental office, submitted plans show.

A 1,300-square foot Tropical Smoothie Cafe is one of two restaurant spaces expected for the eastern end of an inline retail strip that adjoins the future Publix supermarket at 1715 Oil Well Road, immediately east of the football field at Palmetto Ridge High School. The exterior shell nears completion for Publix and the adjoining retail shops, which will include Publix Liquors, Great Clips hair salon and Encore Nail Bar. Two other units are still available and Fifth Third Bank has signed on for a future outparcel building in front of the strip.

Since Florida-based WMG Development broke ground last summer on The Shoppes at Orange Blossom, a major construction zone consumes the entire acreage with the building of a lift station and the development’s infrastructure, including Big Corkscrew Drive, a new public road off Oil Well that will run between the new Publix supermarket and a future apartment complex while eventually connecting to Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park.

Interior roads under construction are Workman Way and Champs Avenue. Workman will run east-west from Big Corkscrew Drive to Hawthorn Road, the approach to Orange Blossom Ranch’s entrance; Champs will run north-south from Oil Well to Workman, splitting the outparcel lots fronting the future luxury apartments: the 384-unit Emblem at Orange Blossom, being developed by Quarterra Multifamily, a spinoff of Lennar Corp.

Filling up

Q: I heard a rumor that RaceTrac backed out of the new Tractor Supply location and a Wawa is going in. Do you have any info on this? – Mike Paulins, Golden Gate Estates

A: Plans for the gas station outparcel still aren’t ready for prime time in front of the new Tractor Supply Co. store readying to launch on the northwest corner of Golden Gate Boulevard and Wilson Boulevard in Golden Gate Estates. Nevertheless, a convenience store with gas pumps still is a proposed use on one of two outparcels on that corner development of about 10 acres owned by HSC Orangetree LLC, a corporation registered to H. Ray Hix Jr. of Alabama.

“Right now, it’s planned to be Circle K,” Hix said. “We’re under agreement with them.”

During a pre-application meeting last August with Collier County Growth Management, the developer proposed a Circle K project consisting of a 5,200-square-foot convenience store with 12 fueling positions on the corner of Wilson and Golden Gate boulevards, county records show.

A specific commercial tenant has not been named yet for the other outparcel lot on the northeast corner of Golden Gate Boulevard and First Street Northwest, but Hix believes it could be an auto parts store, although that deal has not been completed.

Tractor Supply is targeted to have a soft opening near the end of March and a grand opening in April for its nearly 24,000-square-foot store at 77 Golden Gate Blvd., said a corporate communications representative for the Tennessee-based company that operates a chain of stores selling products for agriculture, lawn and garden, home improvement, animal care and more. The new store features the rural lifestyle retailer’s latest prototype with an outdoor garden area, a feed center and a fenced outdoor display area.

The only other Tractor Supply store in Collier County has operated since 2008 at 13235 Tamiami Trail E. in East Naples. The publicly traded company has more than 2,200 retail stores nationwide, including regional locations in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, North Fort Myers and LaBelle.

The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim.aten@naplespress.com.