There is another commercial project proposed for Manteca.

It is the quintessential Manteca commercial development — a gas station and a convenience store.

This time, it’s being proposed in the 1800 block of East Yosemite Avenue on the south side of the street on a parcel immediately east of the entry to El Rancho Mobile Home Park.

The proposal also includes a building with space for six smaller retail businesses.

And as much as people may say the “market” does not need more gas stations and convenience stores, they definitely pencil out based on demand.

But they also mean the private sector can make investments that — depending upon the  project and location — can leverage retail/dining space in the first or future building phases.

The synergy attracts a host of small businesses from independent dining options and hair stylists to other  concerns to lease space they couldn’t afford to build.

The cash flow a gas station and convenience store represent can’t be understated when it comes to developing neighborhood commercial or generating more “in-line” space for retail and services that aren’t part of larger shopping centers.

It allows the developer to add somewhat “riskier” investments in constructing building space for other retail.

An example is ARCO and AM/PM mini-market on Crestwood Avenue at Lathrop that opened several years ago along with a Starbucks and car wash.

It is now one of the more successful gas stations in Manteca based on sales tax volume.

The high traffic has lured three tenants to fill a building now under construction immediately to the east of the Crestwood AM/PM. They include a Fatburger and a pizza restaurant.

It is the same economic premise that led to the proposed ARCO and AM/PM on Woodward Avenue at Pillsbury Road south of the 120 Bypass.

The fueling station and convenience store will likely profitable at that location.

That would minimize the risk to the developer to build space for casual dining restaurants, hair stylists, and other commercial uses.

The same economics and market dynamics are driving similar gas station/convenience stores with retail and dining space components including one approved on the

The other is at Airport Way and Lathrop Road, on the southeast corner of that intersection.

The Airport Way project features a 1,800-square-foot courtyard is part of the second phase of 13,000 plus square feet of buildings on 3.03 acres.

The initial phase will include a Chevron with 16 fueling stations, an Extra Mile convenience store, and a car wash as well as a quick serve restaurant with drive thru service.

The courtyard will be between a retail building of 5,374 square feet and a pair of restaurant spaces — 1,908 and 2,092 square feet respectively — planned for the second phase.

The courtyard could accommodate up to nine tables.

An older example is the combination gas station/convenience store built in the late 1990s on the northeast corner of Louise Avenue and Cottage Avenue.

A more recent combo is on North Main at Lancaster Avenue that now also has an Indian market, restaurant, and shipping store.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com