The project previously was approved by the East Lansing City Council at its Sept. 6 meeting.

Only the old gas station canopies will remain in place, and the convenience store will be expanded in size to include a Tim Hortons coffee shop and drive-thru, said Craig Hoppen, the president of J & H Oil Company, the organization who owns and operates the gas station.

The company will pay about $700,000 to cover the cost of the construction, Hoppen said.

New fuel options — including diesel and E85 ethanol — also will be offered to motorists as a result of the upgrades, Hoppen said.

East Lansing Planning and Community Development Director Tim Dempsey said heavy traffic near the site drove the city to approve the project.

“The location was obviously a prime location,” Dempsey said. “It’s a main intersection in that part of East Lansing — it has good visibility and traffic.”

Previously, Dempsey said the area was underutilized.

The site’s complete overhaul isn’t likely to draw customers away from gas stations on the other side of the city, said an employee with the Brookfield Shell gas station, 1831 E. Grand River Ave.

“(The renovations and construction) wouldn’t affect our business at all,” the employee said.

Elementary education sophomore Megan Thompson doesn’t travel to her home in Hamilton, Mich., very often, but when she does, she said she and her roommate typically don’t buy gas in the East Lansing area.

Normally, Thompson said she heads up I-496 when leaving the city.

The drive to her hometown takes about an hour and a half, she said.

With an upgraded station near the highway, she said she might be more tempted to stop for gas.

“Usually, we wait until we’re farther out (from East Lansing), but if we needed (gas) right away, we’d probably go there,” she said.

Hoppen said he’s optimistic more customers will stop at the station to purchase gas and also food from the new convenience store.

“We feel the new offerings and the upscale facility will really drive more business into that site,” he said.

Although Dempsey and Hoppen did not say exactly when construction would be completed, the exterior of the new convenience store is nearly finished, and windows are in place in the front of the building.