- Gurman Bhatti
- Brisebois Law
- April 8, 2025
Would a gas station’s rentable area include its convenience store and the gas station canopy/fueling area?
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Would a gas station’s rentable area include its convenience store and the gas station canopy/fueling area?
Hi Gurman,
The BOMA 2020 Retail Standard would be the most appropriate BOMA standard to use for a gas station, but it does not deal with gas stations specifically. Under the standard, the fully enclosed convenience store would certainly be included as part of the Gross Leasable Area (GLA); however, it's not as straightforward with the covered fueling areas.
The Retail standard does specifically exclude Exterior Areas such as "Drive-Throughs" from the Boundary Area and thus the GLA. Drive-Throughs are defined as:
An Exterior Area of a Retail Property that provides Customers with convenient access to an Occupant’s goods and/or
services from their automobile.
On the other hand, the BOMA 2020 Retail Standard does include all Fully Enclosed and Partially Enclosed Areas. Partially Enclosed is defined as:
A design function of a Building that requires a Floor and a Permanent Roof, but does not require full protection from the elements.
It also includes all Unenclosed Areas that are fundamental to the Retail Experience. Retail Experience is defined as:
The Fully Enclosed, Partially Enclosed, and Unenclosed Areas of a Retail Property which are critical to the overall design, character, ambience, safety, movement and enjoyment of its Occupants and Customers within the shopping environment.
Given that gas is not generally pumped from the automobile itself, I would leaning towards including the fueling areas, but it might be safer to include the area as an Ancillary Area.
Please note that a new version of the Retail Standard is coming in 2025 and will deal with this situation more precisely.
I hope this helps.
Thanks,
David