Councilman calling for pause on new gas stations
I will say, I’ve noticed in the last 5-6 years an abundance of brand new gas stations opening up near me (Hilcroft to Chimney Rock/Westheimer to Richmond area) with at least three more in various stages of development all pretty close together. Some include washaterias, car washes and more but it sure seems like a high concentration of new developments.
Are yall seeing this in other parts of the city?
Yep every damn corner.
This smells of central planning and I don’t like it. If there’s this much demand for gas stations, then let them be built.
Personally, I haven’t noticed gas stations popping up all that much, but the bulk of my time is spent in Downtown and EaDo anyway, and that part of town isn’t all that conducive to gas stations.
That’s where I’m at too. Let the market figure this one out.
Some have also closed down in that area, so part could just be a cycling of old to new.
In the area I mentioned, I think only one or two have closed down that I can think of. One was rebuilt into a bigger one. There are significantly more being built than going away. Generally, I am with yall on the market figuring it out. I’m just surprised that it wasn’t already someone seeing the market potentially oversaturated. I think some of these are the same developers, too. Though, they likely did actual market analysis where I’m just looking at them thinking it seems like a lot.
As of 2024, 2.39 million people in the city of Houston, gotta fill somewhere I guess. With continued growth (catching Chicago), population density is also going up. Guessing the market for the stations is warranted without good public transportation.
Wait until the next hurricane you won’t think there are to many
And that doesn’t count the millions driving into Houston from surrounding suburbs…
Johnny Carson once quipped about Houston…
“I just returned from Houston, which has a dozen of the most beautiful, architecturally designed skyscrapers anywhere in the world surrounded by 2,000 gas stations.”
there are only more gas stations if they are profitable.
years ago, there where three at fountainview and san felipe, they turned two into banks. if the stations were making enough profits all three would have stayed open.
It ain’t all about the gas, it’s mainly about the highly profitable new store that comes with it.
Are convenience stores really that profitable? I’d have assumed they were relatively high-overhead in urban areas.
So for those that didn’t actually read the article. He’s not proposing stopping all development he’s got it narrowed down pretty specifically to gas stations butting right up against residences/neighborhoods.
Which apparently are growing in number, which we’ve all seen those particular gas stations they typically aren’t great or surrounded by the best characters.
It’s been a few years, but I had a client with multiple stations where his stores were quite a bit more profitable than gas sales. I’ve been told that by others as well. I’m sure there are quite a few variables which could alter that % by market or size as well tho.
From AI
Gas stations make significantly more money on food and convenience items than on selling gas. While fuel draws customers to the location, gas is treated as a low-margin loss leader. In-store food, snacks, and dispensed beverages provide much higher profit margins, accounting for over 60% to 70% of a gas station’s total profits.
If an individual or couple are extremely high earners, they sometimes utilize gas stations as an “income sponge.”
Normally, when you buy a building, the government makes you write off its cost very slowly over 40 years. But because the country runs on fuel, the IRS has a special loophole for gas stations. They let you write off almost the entire cost of the property immediately in the very first year.If you buy a gas station for $2 million, the IRS lets you pretend on paper that you lost $1.5 million on day one. Even if the gas station is open, busy, and making you cash in real life, on your tax paperwork, it looks like a financial disaster.
Not sure that’s a loophole for gas stations but that most of the value in the assets aren’t land or the building.
At least I haven’t seen that the rules you’re referencing if they exist.
What it does: Legally reclassifies a “retail motor fuel outlet” (gas station) as 15-year recovery property.
The Benefit: Bypasses the standard 39-year depreciation timeline required for normal commercial buildings.
What it does: Grants immediate, upfront deductions for qualifying assets with a lifespan under 20 years.
The Benefit: Allows you to write off a massive percentage of the building and equipment costs entirely in Year One.
What it does: Lifts the restrictive “passive loss” boundaries if an individual or spouse meets material participation rules.
The Benefit: Allows the massive Year One depreciation losses to directly cancel out ordinary W-2 or business income.
I see. Accelerated bonus depreciation isn’t specific to gas stations though. That said, it can only apply because it’s 15 year instead of 39 year property.
The 15 year is specific to them if the above is correct but they aren’t broadly allowed to deduct everything in year one. In general, it’s 15 years MACRS without bonus.
That’s still a nice benefit for sure.
Kind of related, I’ve seen people put in gas
stations out here that are in the proposed road widening project, that’s scheduled to begin in 2030. Guess they work the numbers
and do it anyway. No idea if tax code or Tx DOT make it worthwhile.
There is also a new quick stop like gas station that never opened on Telge near 99. Building
just never opened in like 2+ years. Don’t know if they ran out of money, went bankrupt, or what happened. Just odd.
© 1999-2025 CoogFans.com
