RACINE - A new, $3.5 million gas station, store, restaurant and car wash is coming to Washington Avenue between Downtown and Uptown.

Local businessman Tom Tousis of Racine-based Better Day Petroleum is laying plans for a five-parcel plot of land in the 1100 block of Highway 20.

Tousis plans to essentially replicate his Better Day BP filling station at Douglas Avenue and Goold Street - although he hasn't yet chosen a fuel supplier. Construction is slated for next year.

The City of Racine, which got the land as a donation, recently gave Tousis a 90-day option to buy the land for its assessed value, $69,500.

Tousis described the elements of the coming development:

n About eight fuel pumps including diesel, E-85 and possibly biodiesel fuel.

n An approximately 5,000-square-foot grocery/convenience store.

n An independent, family-run restaurant. This will match a future restaurant at the Douglas Avenue operation, Tousis said. Both will be run by Tousis family members including Tousis' parents, Gus and Victoria Tousis.

n A single-bay car wash.

The land came into the City of Racine's possession last winter when the Schaefer family, operating as ARB Enterprises, donated the former Schaefer auto dealership and all the blacktop around it.

The city had the building demolished and the blacktop removed. Probes into the ground showed it to be an uncontaminated site, said City Development Director Brian O'Connell.

The currently vacant site occupies roughly three-quarters of a block. That west side of the street now only has two businesses, one on each end: Tino's Carry Out and Mid-Town Tire & Gas.

The Tousis project had to compete against a proposal for a small retail development anchored by a Family Dollar store. O'Connell said the Tousis plan adds more tax base, and the site was judged suitable for what Better Day Petroleum will build.

"This seemed to be a place where this could fit," O'Connell said.

The site lies within the Uptown design-review district, which means the architectural plan must pass muster by that review board before construction starts. O'Connell said he's confident the result will improve the spotty stretch between Downtown and Uptown.

"This should be something that raises the bar," he said.

Late last year Tousis got press coverage when he converted to LED, or light-emitting diode, exterior and interior lighting at his BP station. He said he'll use the same type in the new project, despite the higher initial investment.

"I wouldn't do a site without it," he said.

Tousis said the twin family restaurants, at the Washington and Douglas avenue developments, will be Greek diners with simple menus but good food. The family ran a restaurant at Douglas and Goold avenues for many years. Several years ago they chose to leave the business, had Gibson's Charhouse razed, and Tousis had the BP station built.

He said he expects construction on Washington Avenue will start next spring, and the new store and station would open next fall.