Cape convenience store, gas station to be demolished for shopping center

Soon a convenience store and gas station in Cape Coral will get demolished to make room for a shopping center.

Clara Fetty wants to know why the convenience store and gas station she comes to every week, which is on Pine Island Rd and Del Prado Blvd, needs to become another hub for retail in Cape Coral.

“There’s a shopping plaza in every corner of Cape Coral,” Fetty said. “We have enough shopping malls and enough shopping plazas that have empty renters, you know.”

Other drivers, like Alan Maniscalco, express surprise to hear a bulldozer will take down the two businesses to make way for a new shopping center. The convenience store and gas station has been there for more than three decades.

“It’s kind of shocking,” Maniscalco said. “This store is like a landmark.”

Mark Petoskey said with so many people moving to Cape Coral, places like the Circle K Shell can not keep up with increasing rent prices. If the business has to go, some hope for an alternative to take its place that meets the demand of nearby residents.

“A small grocery store,” Mark Petoskey said as a suggestion. “I’m always for more restaurants.”