A Clearwater development company has plans to tear down a Sanford gas station near Interstate 4 and replace it with a different sort of fueling station – a coffee shop.
Epic Development LLC submitted pre-application plans to Seminole County recently for property located at 4700 W State Road 46 (Gmap). The site, at the northwest corner of State Road 46 and Hickman Drive, has been a Chevron gas station until recently.
The Clearwater firm intends to tear down the existing structures and build a 5,485-square-foot building. The application says while uses for the building have not been confirmed, the developer is considering a coffee house with a drive-through service.
Andrew Hupp of Epic Development said the building would most likely house two separate tenants. He stressed that no tenant agreements have been signed, and he could not comment on potential tenants.
That said, it doesn’t take too much mental bandwidth to determine what company might build a coffee shop with a drive-through in a high-traffic location next to I-4 – Starbucks.
Epic Development has built several Starbucks in the past. Plus, an executive for the Seattle-based coffee company provides a testimonial on Epic’s website about the developer’s quality of work. In addition, there are at least two, and possibly three, new hotels planned within easy walking distance of this property, which adds to the demographic base Starbucks would look for.
Of course, nothing’s official until the contracts are signed, so things could change. What is certain, however, is that the I-4/State Road 46 gateway into Sanford will see some new development in the near future.
Click to enlarge (credit: CPH Engineers)
Sanford, Fla. 