Pinehills residents have access to dozens of retailers at the 3,000-acre master-planned community in Plymouth, but filling up their gas tanks hasn’t been as convenient.
That will change next year: Construction began this month on a 2,700-square-foot, eight-bay garage next to The Market at Pinehills grocery store. It is scheduled for completion in early 2012.
The closest gas stations are at exits 2 and 5 off Route 3, said Pinehills President John Judge.
“It was always in our plan to someday introduce the gas station to Pinehills,” Judge said.
The station, which also will provide basic maintenance services, is owned by Plymouth resident Al Levis and his sons Albert and Geoff. The family has owned a Gulf station in downtown Plymouth for nearly 30 years. The new station will also be a Gulf station.
“I think it’s going to be a real busy gas station,” said Susan Blackington-Harris, general manager at The Market. She expects the station will also be a big draw in the summer for Cape Cod-bound travelers.
“We get a lot of Cape traffic in the summertime,” she said. “They pull off (Route 3) here, pick up food and continue on down. This is an opportunity for them to have one-stop shopping.”
Members of the Levis family recently bought the quarter-acre parcel, which is part of the Village Green commercial district near the entrance to the Pinehills. As part of the gas station construction, the Market’s parking lot will be expanded.
About 20 retailers and service businesses now occupy commercial land in the Pinehills, including recent arrivals such as the Rye Tavern and the Sylvia’s By the Sea gift shop. Negotiations are taking place with several others, Judge said.
About 150,000 square feet of retail and office space has been built at Pinehills, which is permitted for as much as 1.3 million square feet of commercial space.
Since the development launched in 2000, roughly half of the 3,052 approved home lots have been sold. There have been 70 home sales so far in 2011, a 12 percent increase from the same period last year, Judge said.
