BELLEFONTE — First came Sheetz. Then, there was Rutter’s. Giant followed suit. Soon, a new player will enter the gas wars along the Benner Pike in Bellefonte.
During the July 18 Centre County Board of Commissioners meeting, Wawa submitted a formal land development plan for a location along the Benner Pike. At that meeting, Christopher Schnure, county land development and subdivision planner, presented an overview of the final land development plan. The store will be located near the intersection of Benner Pike and Eagle Point in Benner Township, directly across from Pennsylvania-based convenience store rival Sheetz.
It will be the county’s first Wawa, which currently operates more than 1,000 stores in six states.
Yes, the gas/convenience store war has come to the Benner Pike.
The store in Benner Township would be Wawa’s furthest Pennsylvania outpost from its established foothold in the Philly area, at least for now. The Delaware County-based convenience store chain has plans for several other locations in the region, Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce told PhillyVoice back in March.
“We can’t confirm exact timelines and locations yet, but we can say that we are planning for a number of sites in Happy Valley,” Bruce told the Voice. “We look forward to serving our loyal Wawa customers there as soon as 2025.”
Although Wawa has not set an official timeline for development, Schnure indicated that it could happen fast.
“As with any developer, the sooner the better,” he said at the July 18 meeting.
According to plans drafted by PennTerra Engineering, Wawa will be a 6,600-square-foot store with 16 gas pumps on eight fueling station islands.
The addition of Wawa along the Benner Pike is expected to amp up the gas wars that have already begun. During the recent Fourth of July holiday, all Sheetz stores dropped gas prices to 1.776 per gallon in honor of the nation’s birthday.
Along the Benner Pike, Rutter’s took note, also lowering its gas prices at that location.
The addition of Wawa along the Benner Pike means there will now be four gas stations in a one-mile stretch.
“In just a couple of years, we’ve gone from one gas station on the Benner Pike to four. Progress might not be the right term for it, but quite a lot of motion, shall we say,” said Mark Higgins, BOC chair. “In greater Bellefonte at this point, a lot more businesses, a lot more activity.”
