Sam's Club gas station on its way to Pearl City
Construction is expected this summer, though a permit is still pending
Hawaii's first Sam's Club gas station is on its way to Pearl City.
Kevin McCall, spokesman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said yesterday the company expects to begin construction on the estimated $500,000 project by early summer.
The gas station site, which measures about 30,800 square feet at the intersection of Kuala and Makolu Streets across from the new Pearl City Wal-Mart, is expected to offer 12 stations with 24 pumps.
Prices would be competitive, according to McCall, but the gas station would be available to both Sam's Club members and non-members. Sam's Club members would get a discount.
The permit for the gas station is under review, according to records from the Honolulu county planning and permitting department. The application was originally submitted in February 2005.
So far, there has been no vocal opposition to the new discount gas station in Pearl City.
Albert Fukushima, chair of the Pearl City Neighborhood Board, said representatives of Sam's Club have been updating the members of its progress over the last year.
The board holds no official position on the gas station yet.
"We basically accepted it based on the conditions of zoning that the city provided for the property," said Fukushima. "We've been monitoring the plans of all the projects."
Neighborhood board member Cruz J. Vina Jr., chair of the transportation and traffic committee, said there are some concerns regarding the traffic in the area, and that he is waiting to see a traffic study.
Wal-Mart had said in earlier presentations it would include some road improvements, such as the widening of Makolu Street. Presentations have sketched the entrance of the proposed gas station from the Wal-Mart driveway, with an exit on to Makolu Street.
Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., has two stores on Oahu. Nationwide, it has more than 570 locations.