An old gas station on Columbus Road in Athens will be converted into an electric vehicle charging station
By: Courtney Smith
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A long vacant gas station on Columbus Road in Athens is set to be transformed into a 21st century electric vehicle charging station.
It’s part of a larger project to make the rural areas of southern Ohio more accessible for drivers of electric vehicles.
“We’re filling gaps with charging availability and really investing in our member communities,” said Dana Vingris of the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council.
SOPEC is partnering with the Athens County Port Authority, which received $225,183 in grant funding to clean up contamination at the Columbus Road location.
The site was the former Russell’s Gas Station and the clean up will include removing three underground storage tanks and contaminated soil.
There is no tentative date for completion of the project, but SOPEC hopes to begin the cleanup as early as July.
Once the brownfield remediation is complete, SOPEC will begin construction. The project will look like a traditional gas station except it will offer four EV electric charging vehicles ports. SOPEC plans to keep the original building and turn it into community rooms and SOPEC office space.
“We are looking to maintain the history of that location as much as we can and sort of bringing it back to life in the appearance of what used to be a fueling station when it was built, but replacing that with charging,” Vingris said.
This charging station is the latest project in the Columbus road redevelopment effort. This is the last major gateway into the city that hasn’t undergone a restoration.
The charging station will be just down the street from the new hospital, across from the Sunset Motel, which is being redeveloped into a homeless shelter, and will sit along the new bike path that was just approved by the City Council.
“I am excited by the project and how it positions Athens as a leader in the EV charging space,” said Molly Fitzgerald, executive director of the Athens County Port Authority.