Emily Laura Blog's: For $375K, a Buyer Could Pump New Life Into a Texas Gas Station

Monday, 17 May 2021

For $375K, a Buyer Could Pump New Life Into a Texas Gas Station

An eclectic roadside stop just off I-35, about halfway between Austin and Waco in Jarrell, TX, offers plenty of potential. Any buyers in search of a distinctive dwelling deep in the heart of Texas need look no farther.

“It’s a cool and unique. You just don’t find anything like this anymore,” says the listing agent, Bob Schreiber. “It’s an original 1940s gas station, and the upper dwelling part was built on top of it.”

It’s on the market for $375,000 and offers a wealth of opportunity for a buyer who wants to pump up the current offering.

Schreiber says the property, with its three original gas pumps, could be converted into an ideal Airbnb, or perhaps a retail establishment like a coffee shop.

Currently, the lower level serves mostly a junk and antique shop. Behind the main cash register is an area with a bedroom, a full bathroom, and a kitchen.

Upstairs, there’s a one-bedroom efficiency apartment with an outdoor deck area. A new owner could optimize the location on a heavily trafficked Interstate, and appeal to weary travelers in search of a quirky place to stay.

“There are a lot of people who look for unique properties to stay in while they are traveling,” he says.

Exterior of property in Jarrell, TX
Kim Mitchell

Upstairs, with Ralphie the dog
Kim Mitchell

It will take some work to clear the place out and spruce it up a bit, but Schreiber says the location is the attraction.

“The way the growth is around Central Texas, everything’s building out. It’s growing like mad out that way,” he says. “It is right there on Interstate 35.”

Schreiber acquired the listing by chance.

“It’s just a happenstance that I stopped there one day,” he says. “I was looking for some properties for an out-of-town client all the way up to Jarrell.”

So he stopped into the antique store to kill some time and poke around.

“I was talking to the lady, and it came up that I was looking at property. She said, ‘Do you want to sell this one?’ I said, ‘Well, of course.’”

The 1,964 square feet of gas station property also includes a large storage unit next to the former filling station. The antiques and store inventory are not part of the current sale price, but a buyer could negotiate them into a final sale.

“Everything goes with the property that is gas station-related, so the three old pumps out front. They are not operational, but they add to the ambiance,” Schreiber explains. “Then we have the signage that has to do with the gas station and the Mobil Pegasus sign up on the rooftop.”

Ralphie, the dog who appears in some of the listing photos, is also not part of the sale.

“For the right price, he may be,” Schreiber jokes.

He adds that several people are serious about buying the eye-catching property.

“The potential is just pretty phenomenal,” Schreiber says. “It is a truly a unique property, not to be replicated anytime soon in such a growth area. It caught my attention enough to stop by.”