Peabody Stop & Shop eyes gas station addition

PEABODY – Stop & Shop is looking into building a four-pump gasoline station at its 19 Howley St. location.Attorney Joseph Correnti, who is representing the grocery store chain, said the purpose of the new gas station would be to solidify the customer base and in turn have the customer provide greater loyalty during the economic downturn.Customers who shop at the grocery store receive discounts on the fuel.The new site would be able to accommodate eight vehicles at one time and will be self service. A retail kiosk is also proposed that would offer drinks, candy bars, motor oil, etc., for sale. Repair services would not be offered.The gas station would house two tanks of gasoline, one with 10,000 gallons of premium fuel and the other with 30,000 of regular and would be housed in the corner section of the rather large parking lot.A total of 52 parking spaces would be lost, leaving 307 spaces, covering .7 of an acre of land.The City Council approved the special permit needed to move forward with the plan, however, a portion of the proposed fueling station is within the 100 year flood plain and is subject to review by the Peabody Conservation Commission.The hours of the gas station were proposed to be 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.The amount of revenue the city would generate from the plan was not known, however, Stop & Shop said the endeavor would cost the company roughly $850,000.