The council approved a conditional-use permit for a convenience store and gas station at the corner of East Market and North Seventh streets. An old gas station stands there now.

“We’ve been working with them on this project for several months now,” said Paul Embler, the town’s planning director. The plans call for a 6,000-square-foot building with a canopy and five fuel pumps on a 1.59-acre tract.

Larry Stancil and his family would own the business. Stancil is president of Stancil Oil Co. and Selma Self Storage. Bunt-Brantley Enterprises in Rocky Mount would design and build the venture.

The building’s design would include brick, stucco and stone accent. The plan also has space for a restaurant tenant around back. Bob Brantley, of Bunt-Brantley, said the project would be a big investment but could reap bigger profits. “Given the investment that they end up with out there, they have to be pretty big draws,” he said in a phone interview. “Everything [Stancil] is doing is state of the art out there.”

The plan calls for advanced technology for the gas pumps, including leak detection and monitoring, as well as efficient lighting and toilet systems inside the store, Brantley said.

Council members seemed excited about the new development.

“I’m just glad to see something going up there,” said Councilman Bill Jordan.

Stancil declined to comment specifically for this story, saying the final details had yet to be ironed out. But at the meeting, he said slowness in the construction industry had not helped the project much.

“The economy’s bad, but prices haven’t come down as much as you’d think they would,” he told the council. If the project goes forward, construction would likely start in July and wrap up by the end of the year, Brantley said.