Wesley Chapel Walmart Adding Gas Station; What About Sam’s Club? 

Walmart Fuel Under Construction 

The massive banner on the construction fence couldn’t be any less subtle — “COMING SOON, YOUR NEW WALMART FUEL STATION” (photo). 

The underutilized northeast portion of the Wesley Chapel Walmart’s parking lot (directly behind Chase Bank) on S.R. 54 (east of Bruce B. Downs Blvd., or BBD) is being transformed into the next useful feature of the popular store. 

Final site plan revisions for the gas station addition were submitted to the county back in January of 2024, but nothing transpired for almost a year and a half, so it was unclear when, or even if, the station would ever come to fruition. 

That question has been answered, as the construction is now happening at breakneck speed. Walmart hadn’t even fenced the area off just a few months ago, but now, the massive fuel tanks are getting ready to be buried, the station’s canopy is about half done, and the convenience store is pretty much finished. At this pace, it appears that the new gas station, with 18 fueling positions (making it the largest such station in Wesley Chapel), will be done in a few months. 

In addition to the gas pumps, the station will feature a very tiny and interesting 440-sq.-ft. convenience store. From what we can tell from the building plan and this photo, the tiny store will have two exterior restrooms to the rear of the building, with roll-up doors on the side of the building that will protect what appears to be display doors that will open outward which will likely contain drinks and snacks. It’s unclear, however, if you will even be able to go inside the store to make your purchases or if everything will be done from the outside. We’ve never seen anything quite like it before. It’s certainly nothing like the full convenience store at the New Tampa Walmart on BBD. 

In addition to these features, the plan also proposes to add a new right turn lane into the Walmart’s northern driveway on southbound Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., which should hopefully reduce conflicts for motorists who only want to access the new gas station. 

Sam’s Club Expansion Not Happening? 

Considering that the two stores are run by the same company, is the Sam’s Club on S.R. 56 getting its desperately needed fuel expansion next? Unfortunately, it seems that it’s not likely to be happening anytime soon, as the plans for that expansion were withdrawn from the county by the developer in January of this year. 

We had previously reported — back in the summer of 2023 — that Sam’s Club representatives had met with the county to expand the store’s existing gas station from 12 fueling positions to 16, which would include adding two more fueling lanes and a redesign to make things run smoother, as the existing location and design of the station causes backups on the access roadway (which sometimes extend out onto S.R. 56) in front of the main Sam’s Club parking lot. 

Engineering plans were submitted the following year, and the county gave comments, but it appears that the plan is off the table for now.