A new Circle K store that opened on N.C. 87 in 2021. Proposals are on file with the Sanford-Lee County Planning Department for two more similar stores.

Documents on file with the Sanford-Lee County Planning Department show new Circle K stores proposed for Broadway Road and U.S. 15-501.

The department’s Technical Review Committee, which is comprised of local officials from various city and county government entities representing Sanford, Lee County and Broadway and reviews commercial projects and major subdivisions for compliance with the codes and policies of various local departments, will take up the proposals on Oct. 27. Committee approval doesn’t guarantee the projects submitted for review will be developed — only that they fall under compliance.

In one case, the proposal calls for an existing Circle K store at 3006 Hawkins Ave. at the intersection with Perkinson Road to be redeveloped with a new gas station “including outdoor seating, truck weighing, parking, landscaping, parking lot lighting, and other improvements.”

An existing motel next to current store’s location sits within the 6.59 acre proposed site, indicating it could be demolished to make way for the new structure if plans move forward, although The Rant has not confirmed that.

Because of the site is within Sanford’s jurisdiction and part is within Lee County jurisdiction, the “site will need to be annexed and rezoned to be developed in the manner proposed,” TRC documents note. The plans on file show the proposed building to be 3,666 square feet, much larger than the building that currently stands, but smaller than newer Circle K stores recently opened in Tramway and along N.C. 87 south.

The second proposal calls for a new store – this one also 3,666 square feet – in front of the proposed Sports Complex at the intersection of Broadway Road/N.C. 42 and the U.S. 421 bypass. An existing Circle K store sits just half a mile down the road from the proposed site, so it’s unclear what would happen to that location if the new one moves forward.