'This Is Perfect for Airbnb!:' QuikTrip Customer Pulls Into Gas Station. Then He Looks Across the Street

Location, location, location—it's one of the golden rules of real estate. 

People want to be conveniently located, often by a grocery store, schools, and maybe even a park. And living in a safe, quiet neighborhood is also a top priority for many.

So why did developers decide to build a row of houses in this peculiar and seemingly undesirable spot?

Houses Sit Next to QuikTrip Gas Station

In a video with more than 1.2 million views on TikTok, content creator Vinny Hanna (@finnytimefun) shows the bizarre real estate situation they just passed.

The footage shows a QuikTrip gas station on one side and a row of houses on the other, except there's no road, fence, or any real distinction between the properties. The gas station parking lot sits literally steps away from the houses' front doors.

"Do y'all remember those videos of that QuikTrip that's right next to these houses?" Hanna says.

He pans the camera to show the houses, which feature "quick move in" signs. But according to the creator, they've been sitting empty for a while.

"No one's bought these houses. Do you see that? Quick move in," he says. "No one's bought these houses this whole time. No one's gonna buy it. No one's gonna live next to a QuikTrip."

The setup raises obvious questions about quality of life. Living steps away from a 24-hour gas station means constant traffic, idling engines, bright lights at all hours, and the general noise that comes with a convenience store that never closes.

Backstory on Housing Development Near QuikTrip Station

The houses in question are part of the "Seasons on Olive" neighborhood in Youngtown, Arizona.

According to AZ Family, the development consists of 28 move-in-ready homes built by Richmond American Homes, with several positioned just steps from the QuikTrip parking lot.

What makes this layout so unusual is the lack of any buffer zone. Sindy Ready, president of the Arizona Association of Realtors, told AZ Family that typically in "in-fill" projects like this—where builders find a nice plot of land tucked into an existing community—you'd see a block fence separating residential from commercial properties. But not here.

"What's so unusual about this neighborhood is that the garages and the driveways pull right back into where the QT parking is," Ready said.

It’s all because of some rezoning decisions. Youngtown Mayor Michael LeVault, who's held office since 2006, said the QuikTrip was developed when he first became mayor. The land where the houses now sit was originally zoned for commercial use but got rezoned to residential before the 2020 pandemic because "with it not being on the main thoroughfare, its commercial potential was really limited."

According to 12News, the proximity has raised plenty of eyebrows. One passerby told the station, "To back out of your driveway you're almost backing into a parking spot at the QT. Doesn't make any sense. If the houses closest to it were flipped around 180 degrees and they had a brick wall between the QT parking lot and back yard that'd be one thing."

But realtor Yareli Orozco sees potential in the quirky setup. "It's so unique and different," she told 12News. "They're just testing the waters with this in a way and Arizona is huge. It's going to continue to build homes and I feel like they're going to build them wherever they find space."

According to the Richmond American Homes website, the homes are priced under $500,000, and the developers are offering low-interest rates to attract buyers.

Ready believes these homes could actually appeal to buyers battling Arizona's housing shortage. "They are single-family homes, there's space between the houses, the yards are small and easy to take care of," she said.

Do People Want to Live At a Gas Station?

“This is perfect for Airbnb!” one person wrote.

“Not QuikTrip houses,” said a second.

“That’s constant traffic in your front yard, homelessness, honking, so many negatives,” another wrote.

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“Could you imagine the traffic and the weirdos hanging around? QT should buy them & use for employee housing,” a commenter added.

Motor1 reached out to Hanna for comment via TikTok direct message and comment, and to QuikTrip and Richmond American Homes via email. We'll be sure to update this if they respond.

 

 

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