Come January, James Bay residents will be able to gas up in their neighbourhood for the first time in more than seven years.

A shuttered gas station at the corner of Menzies and Michigan, dormant since 2017—with sporadic construction work going on since the outbreak of the pandemic—led to complaints to the city from residents who not only wanted a nearby place to fuel up but also were growing tired of seeing the fenced-in property fall under disrepair.

“My plan is [to open] late in January, sometime,” James Zhai, the project manager tells Capital Daily.

“We are trying to do the work as soon as possible,” said Zhai, who confirmed the station, previously independently run, will be a Chevron franchise.

Zhai said property owner Xuegun Schan, who splits his time between China and Vancouver, is expected back in Victoria in the coming weeks to set up his office.

“He came back two months ago, and now he is in China again,” Zhai said.

The news of gas flowing at 308 Menzies will be welcomed by many in the community of nearly 13K, whose nearest gas options have been the Shell on Esquimalt or the Petro-Can across from Ross Bay Cemetery. Both are 2km+ outside James Bay.

Almost one thousand onboard with online petition

Nearly 1K have signed a petition calling the city to “change the status of this neglected site by directing the owner to complete or sell the property” within a foreseeable deadline.

“Since 2017, this despicable eyesore has been stalled on a main artery in our beautiful community,” the petition begins.

“It's held hostage to much-needed fuel, propane, charging, air and retail services required by 12,700 residents, numerous businesses, and hundreds of visiting drivers,” the petition reads. “It's a magnet for vandalism, open drug use, and other crimes.”

While no major crimes have been reported, there’s no denying the corner had become a blight, with tall grass and weeds growing until recently when a crew began cleaning up and working on the exterior brick veneer installation.

 “That should be completed this week,” Zhai tells Capital Daily.

Jen Reimer, who started the petition, said she wasn’t sure if her online or civic efforts—she presented the collective concerns to the city council earlier this year—helped push the gas bar completion over the goal line but she was relieved to hear the issue will soon be in the rearview window.

“After seven long years of waiting for the unsightly gas station… to be finished, I'm surprised and delighted that Chevron has taken over the property and will open the business in January 2025,” she wrote in an email to Capital Daily.

“This is great news that our community has been waiting for and working towards.”

Construction efforts are starting to take shape

Next up, Zhai is hiring a company to pave the parking lot and getting approval from Chevron for its branding and lighting setup.

“We are trying to do the work as soon as possible,” he said.

The building, which will feature a convenience store component, is still a bit of a shell. It needs tiles for the floors and fixtures for the ceiling, Zhai said.

“Everything is scheduled and making progress,” he said.

So, why the delay?

As for why it’s taken so long to reopen, Zhai, who’s been involved with the project since 2020, said there were myriad reasons: roadblocks in the construction industry; delays with consulting companies; a consulting engineer who allegedly refused to continue work or attend inspections; and the pandemic, which kept owner Shan in China.

“It’s really, you know, the pandemic that caused at least two years’ delay for the project,” he said. 

“And also, you know, different people, shareholders [in the construction company] causing, you know, the issue, accumulated like at least two years [in delays].”

Reimer, a James Bay resident, has long complained the dearth of a place to fill up is particularly tough on the community’s many seniors, who rely on their vehicles to get around. 

Her biggest complaint with the city, she said, has been how little work owners/developers need to do to retain the status of an “ongoing” project. She said a City of Victoria “building permit loophole” enables owners and developers to perform only minimal work every 30 days to keep their building permits and avoid the property being designated as abandoned.

In 2021, Victoria’s city council directed staff to look into what some perceive as a loophole but any recommendations were not made public. Calls to the city to find out more were not returned in time for the publication of this story.

“I’m pleased to learn that the proponents have landed on an operator and have given a clear timeline for reopening the service station,” said Vic. Coun. Jeremy Caradonna, the neighbourhood liaison for James Bay.

“The uncertainty has dragged on long enough.”