Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Locust City Council approved two conditional rezoning requests during its meeting Thursday night, one for a popular convenience store chain and the other for a restaurant chain.

Circle K is planning to open a location at the southeast corner of N.C. Highway 24-27 and South Central Avenue.

The site, in between the South Central and Fairview Street lots, would feature a 5,200-square-foot convenience store, three underground fuel tanks and a canopy of seven fueling stations (of which four will offer diesel), according to Paul Lawler, with Bowman Consulting Group, who is working with Circle K on the project. The total space would be about 2.5 acres.

Circle K also plans to install two electrical charging stations.

Council tabled approving the conditional rezoning request for Circle K during its January meeting due to concerns with a stormwater pond that would be close to the facility. Circle K revised its plans and the council unanimously approved the rezoning request.

There was so specific timeline presented, though ground will likely not be broken until next year.

Hwy. 55, the hamburger chain which has more than 135 locations primarily along the east coast, intends to build a standalone restaurant off James Avenue beside the KFC. The 2,490-square-foot facility would be about 1.29 acres.

The restaurant, which will include a drive-through option, will have 55 seats inside and 26 seats outside.

The plan is to hopefully break ground for the project sometime this summer.

Hwy. 55 already has one location in Locust on Red Bridge Road and another in Albemarle on Leonard Avenue, though these are not standalone restaurants.

Circle K and Hwy. 55 were each rezoned from Highway Commercial (HC) to Highway Commercial Conditional (HC-C).

The council also:

• Approved a site plan change for PVG Trucking, which is located off Locust Level Drive. The council in October approved a conditional rezoning request for the business, designating the property as Campus Business & Industrial – Conditional (CBI-C).
• Scheduled a public hearing next month for Main Street Urgent Care, which wants to change its site plan. The council in September approved a conditional rezoning request for the business, designating the property from Highway Commercial (HC) to Highway Commercial Conditional (HC-C).
• Approved resident Chuck Cowherd to serve as an alternate member on the Planning and Zoning Board.

The next scheduled council meeting is 7 p.m. March 10.