New hope for D Street station

By Meg Olson

Fred Pakzad, owner of the D Street ARCO, said the station’s closure and last week’s removal of its sign aren’t reflections of poor economic possibilities at the location, or due to problems with meeting city demands. With lower sales volumes after September 11, it was just not the time or place for a high volume, cash-only ARCO station. Pakzad said he hopes by changing brands and building on to the store, he can still make a go of the business.

“We are trying to get back on our feet and serve the community the best we can,” he said.

Pakzad is now back in California where he owns other service stations. He hopes, once the branding issue is resolved in five to six weeks, to return to Blaine and try and deal with back bills and outstanding issues with the city, then reopen the station. Terry Galvin, planning and economic development director for the city, said they have not heard from Pakzad since the station closed. He said Pakzad will have a few hurdles to overcome before he reopens the station. “There are a number of requirements he has not yet met,” Galvin said. The business has past due gas taxes and utility bills, and the utilities for the station have been cut off. Galvin said there are also conditions outstanding from the original permit to re-open the station. “Mr. Pakzad promised to do the landscaping and address the issue of the illegal sign – the very tall highway sign – but he closed before achieving that,” Galvin said. “We’re very anxious to get both these items done.”

Galvin added the city was not as likely to bend over backwards for Pakzad next time around. “We went the extra mile for him to get him up and running before he met all his permit requirements and there’s been no corresponding effort from him,” he said. “At this point my priority is to bring that site into compliance.”

Pakzad said he was optimistic he could work out any issues with the city. “We have a good relationship with the city and we want that to continue,” he said. He said overdue bills were due to frozen accounts and other requirements were a matter of determining what needed to be done and doing it. “That won’t be a problem, just a delay,” he said...

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