The owner of a long-standing Hollywood Park gas station and auto repair shop said his business will stop selling fuel in March, but the car repair section of the venture will not only remain but it will be enhanced.

Resident Tonya Cummings addressed City Council on Feb. 21, reading a letter authored by Hollywood Park Automotive owner Burt Thompson, who she said was unable to attend the council meeting because he is recovering from surgery.

According to Thompson’s letter, Hollywood Park Automotive—also known as the Shell gas station to many locals at the corner of U.S. 281 and Mecca Drive—that his business will undergo renovations in March including the removal of fuel storage tanks and fuel dispenser canopies.

This, Thompson wrote, will allow the expansion of Hollywood Park Automotive’s car repair section and parking for customers.

Thompson wrote that he would rather not incur an estimated cost of $800,000 or higher to undergo a planned replacement of an existing fuel storage tank scheduled to happen in 2026.

Thompson bought the originally Texas gas station in 1987; nine years later, state environmental regulators required him to remove a then-30-year-old fuel storage tank, Cummings read from Thompson’s letter.

Thompson wrote he loves the Hollywood Park community and wants to continue serving local residents and other area customers.

“This is a not a sale of our company at all. Hollywood Park Automotive is a family business, and we intend to keep it that way for many years that the good Lord will allow us to,” Thompson said.

Cummings said Thompson plans to keep his business open during renovations at Hollywood Park Automotive, although he did not provide exact dates.