Plans move ahead for Joliet gas station that faced opposition

Plans for a Plainfield Road gas station that faced community opposition last year are moving ahead.

The Joliet City Council earlier this month approved a drive-thru permit for a Taco Pros restaurant that will be part of the gas station complex on a 3.3-acre site at 2665 Plainfield Road.

The gas station identified as a Speed Trek will also have liquor sales, video gambling and fuel pumps for trucks as well as cars. The added features drew area residents to City Council meetings to try to stop the project.

City Planner James Torri said in an email that building permits for the project are still under review, and a construction start date has not been set.

The Taco Pros will be part of a 5,390-square-foot convenience store, which would also have liquor sales and video gambling.

The plan also called for 16 lanes for auto fuel pumps and another two for truck pumps.

The site is located just west of the Millenium Square strip mall, which has a Denny’s restaurant, Firestone auto service shop and other businesses. It also is in the vicinity of the Louis Joliet Mall, putting in one of the city’s prime commercial territories.

But the gas station site also borders houses behind it, and the Crystal Lawns subdivision is on the other side of Plainfield Road. Residents argued that the gas station would bring too much traffic and noise.

The property owners and their representatives, however, said they had not been able to put another commercial user on the property in 17 years of trying to market and develop the site.