October 11, 2018
We commend Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales, the mayor, and her colleagues who voted in favor of the resolution to initiate historic designation of San Antonio’s last Pure Oil gas station at 901 Nogalitos. President Susan Beavin gave our statement in support of the designation request, which will move on to the Zoning Commission next.
Unfortunately, the owner of this property remains opposed to designation. We have been working since February to come up with economically viable options that would allow the owner either to sell or to develop the surrounding property while retaining the rare, Tudor-revival style gas station. As several council members noted, new development is already flourishing along the Flores and Nogalitos corridors between Cevallos St. and San Pedro Creek.
We even made a generous offer to purchase the property ourselves and engaged architects to produce a conceptual plan for reuse of the large lot, preserving the gas station. We know that the wise development of this property could easily provide the additional income needed for repairs to the station, which could then be leased and produce its own income. The Nogalitos Pure Oil station deserves not only to join the ranks of the many successfully re-purposed local gas stations, but to take its place among the few remaining national examples that continue to serve their communities.
