Mike Wolanin | The Republic The former Hubler dealership building at Central Avenue and North National Road is being demolished in Columbus, Ind., Monday, March 18, 2024.
Circle K is demolishing a former car dealership in Columbus to open a gas station at the corner of Central Avenue and North National Road.
The gas station chain plans to completely demolish the former 24,130-square-foot Hubler Honda building at 3055 Central Ave. and construct a gas station and convenience store in its place, according to city and county records.
Contractor ATCS Inc. was issued a demolition permit for the property on Feb. 22, stating that it anticipated finishing a complete demolition by April 1, according to Bartholomew County Code Enforcement.
A site plan filed with the City of Columbus – Bartholomew County Planning Department shows plans for a 4,608-square-foot fuel canopy with seven fuel pumps and a 3,962-square-foot convenience store. The total size of the parcel is about 2.28 acres.
The site plan also shows entrances to the gas station on North National Road to the south and Doctors Park Drive to the north. The convenience store will be open 24 hours, sell alcohol and wine for off-site consumption and have 24 parking spots.
Currently, it is unclear when construction of the gas station and convenience store is expected to start or when it will open. The new location is listed as “coming soon” on the gas station chain’s website.
Circle K did not respond to multiple requests for comment on its plans for the property.
“Their plans were approved for construction by the planning department on Feb. 5, 2024,” said City-County Planning Director Jeff Bergman.
The demolition would mark an end of an era for the property, which had been a car dealership for several decades before remaining vacant for four years.
The earliest reference to the property in The Republic’s archives date back to 1968, when the dealership operated as Mahan Ford Sales Inc. The dealership ran newspapers ads that year for the 1968 Ford Mustang Hardtop, Ford Galaxie 500 Hardtop, among other models.
The following year, the dealership placed ads showing a 1969 Ford Torino GT SportsRoof that was described as the “heir apparent to the 1969 NASCAR racing champ.”
By the mid-1970s, the dealership had started operating under the name Mahan Ford and then Mahan Motors at least as early 1982.
In the mid-1980s, the dealership became Renner Motors and later Renner Ford-Honda until around 2017, when owner Lisa Renner moved her Ford dealership a short distance away and sold the Honda franchise to Hubler Automotive Group, The Republic reported at the time.
Hubler Honda operated on the property until 2020, when it left the location to open a new 40,000-square-foot dealership in Taylorsville. The building has been vacant since then.
Mac’s Convenience Stores LLC, which operates under the brand Circle K, purchased the former car dealership for $3.1 million in 2022, according to county records.
The Circle K brand is owned by Canada-based Alimentation Couche-Tard, which operates 7,200 locations in the United States in 47 states. Circle K’s Midwest Division is based in Columbus.
The new gas station and convenient store will be Circle K’s 10th location in Columbus, according to its website. The gas station chain also operates locations in Seymour, North Vernon, Franklin and Nashville.
