North TX - Gas Station/C-Store developer/builder questions
Hi all, I am curious if anyone here has experience developing or building gas stations? 

I'm debating whether a c-store is viable on light industrial land I own. I have a \~10 acre triangular piece of land where a collector road (2018 \~1,700 VPD) terminates at a state arterial (2018 \~5,000 VPD).  The "tip" of the triangle at the intersection would be well suited to subdivide off 2.5 acres with access to both roads. 

A new high school was built north of town and almost all of the collector road traffic is short-cutting down this road to head north to it. The explosive growth in DFW has impacted this town as well (1 hr north) and there are multiple developments (SFH and mixed residential) slated along this state highway, but they haven't broken ground yet.

I'm not pretending this is the BEST location ever - it isn't a signalized intersection, it is not on an interchange with the nearby (1.75 mile) 50,000 VPD limited-access highway. But there are no c-stores along this route since the public high school was moved to the outskirts of town, and now it appears residential development will fill in, further boosting local traffic. 

My CRE experience is in light industrial/mfg repositioning and development. I have zero interest in operating a c-store. Especially as electric vehicles grow in use, I have no idea what that trade-off of population growth vs BEV growth has on c-stores in the next 10-20 years, and don't want that risk.

Questions:

\-What type of traffic volumes do you look for? Random internet search suggested that 5,000 VPD is a "sweet spot" of sufficient volume with ease of curb cut approval. Is that true?

\-How do you prefer to purchase? Completely raw land, or entitled with a preliminary plot plan? I'm not concerned about up-zoning here...at light industrial now but in the long-term plan the area is targeted commercial.

\-Are other models beyond land sale common? Ie build it unflagged on spec and sell it during construction to an owner-operator? 

\-I see a lot of "c-store consultants" online. Any experience with any of those that were actually helpful, vs handing over cash for regurgitated generalized statements?

Lastly, part of the driver here is I have accumulated vacant land along the collector road, which is way below the level-of-service indicated by the traffic volume, and is on the city's list for a rebuild. It also needs a re-orientation (?) and I'd like to go to them with plans for every parcel, we can horse trade lot line adjustments and curb cuts etc. My general plan for all of it is light industrial units, but this bit at the intersection feels like it should have a higher value use. 

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions!
[{"id": "gz377ic", "text": "I\u2019m very near you and am super familiar with VA and Sherman/Dennison markets - shoot me a PM with the property address and if it looks like something (even if it\u2019s not a C store) I\u2019ll holler.", "replies": [{"id": "gz3n2gv", "text": "Thanks PM'd", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gz3b4i3", "text": "The vehicles per day you mentioned are not sustainable as I would want to see a minimum of 15k or more. Construction costs vary per region but typically costs around 2 million to build a reasonable c-store not including land so you need good traffic to support the costs to construct. You could hire a third party to do a feasibility study and typically would cost $500. You could also reach out to a fuel supplier like carter energy, etc and they can provide you their opinion. Other things to consider would be access into the property, on septic or sewer, future competition, who will operate, etc. I\u2019m not in your market but do deal with lots of cstore operators in the Kansas City area.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gz3qa1m", "text": "I work with a C store and these are the bare minimum requirements for us.\n\nMin 15k in AADT\nSignalized\nNew Growth in area\nHard Corner", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gz42xt3", "text": "Regardless of what you may turn it into, the comment about curb cuts is true.  I\u2019d try and get those approved and potentially build them if you have to to lock in your access.  This is especially true if down the road you think it will grow significantly.  Any corner tenant whether it be a c-store, pharmacy or something else are going to want good access.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gza1pzk", "text": "A quick rule of thumb I have heard from C-store operators is expect to capture $200 annually from the trade area population. Usually a 1-2 mile radius. That traffic count is really low.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]