Fort Nelson may soon be home to a new McDonald’s restaurant.
Municipal councillors recently approved a development permit for a proposed restaurant on the old Imperial gas station property just off the Alaska Highway at Airport Drive.
The site was home to the fuel and service shop until 2008, and has sat vacant since the structures were removed between 2009 and 2011 and the land remediated.
Councillor Danny Soles said it was “delightful” to see the former brownfield be redeveloped.
“It’s actually quite rare,” said Soles during a Jan. 23 council meeting approving the restaurant's development application.
“When Imperial was doing work in the oil patch here, one of their contractors was run from a local perspective and Imperial heard about the brownfields in Fort Nelson quite often, and they finally relented,” Soles said.
“Their two properties, as far as I know, are the only ones that have been converted back to a usable state for other purposes. That is just kudos to them at that time but it’s exciting to see that.”
Plans submitted to the municipality show a 5,395 square foot restaurant with a dual lane drive-thru. The property was rezoned for the development last fall.
According to a council report, the municipality will need to work with traffic engineers and the company to review and improve road safety around the restaurant.
Construction is planned to start this spring and expected to be complete in October, should the company file for a building permit.
