The St. Joseph Township Planning Commission has approved a special use permit for a Meijer gas station proposed at Hilltop and Washington roads.
Meijer is seeking to purchase the former Chili’s site, vacant for two and a half years, and build a new Meijer Express — a slightly larger version of the gas and convenience stores located next to many Meijer stores, including those at Exit 23 in Stevensville and Exit 29 at Pipestone Road.
St. Joseph Township Planning Commission Chair Ben Baker tells us the body met Tuesday and signed off on the plan. He says the commission doesn’t decide on what business will go into a site like this, it only decides whether a proposal in front of it would meet the character of the area. In this case, the property is surrounded by other high-traffic businesses, and a gas station even once existed there.
Baker says developers hope the Meijer gas station will attract loyal customers of the larger Meijer stores in Benton Township and Stevensville who live nearby.
Now that planners have voted in favor of the special use permit, the matter will go to the full St. Joseph Township Board of Trustees next month.
