In Brief: Mobil Station Ready for Demolition, Tim Hortons Addition

You can't fill up your car at the at 36101 Woodward Ave. right now, but soon you may be able to pick up doughnuts there.

The gas pumps have been removed, a backhoe is at the ready, and a chain-link fence surrounds the property that straddles Woodward and North Old Woodward.

All this work is in anticipation of the eventual demolition of the building and construction of a new gas station and a Tim Hortons restaurant, said Ken Cooper, Birmingham assistant building official.

Demolition is slated to begin early next week, Cooper said, with construction beginning immediately afterward.

Besides the renovated gas station, the city is also at Old Woodward and Oak Street, as well as at Woodward and Oak. The city voted to levy a special assessment district in the area this July, with 50 percent of the crosswalk project to be paid by the gas station owners.

Planning Director Jana Ecker said the gas station owners intended to begin renovations and construction in the spring but ultimately decided to wait until the fall — after the summer driving season — to protect profitability.

According to Ecker, the new, larger gas station will include a convenience store and Tim Hortons bakery with a drive thru. The size of the paved area is not expected to change, Ecker said, but if it does, it will only be a foot or so expansion into the grassy triangle between Old Woodward and Woodward. The bulk of the green space and the existing pine trees will remain, she said.