Wawa plans unveiled at commissioners meeting

BELLEFONTE — It’s happening, officially.

During the July 18 Centre County Board of Commissioners meeting, a memorandum of understanding was passed for a final subdivision and land development plan for a new Wawa, located at Eagle Point along the Benner Pike in Benner Township.

Centre County subdivision and land development planner Chris Schnure spoke at length about the MOU.

“The memorandum of understanding is simply a three-party agreement between the developer, the township and the county whereby the developer will agree to reimburse — in this case, Benner Township — for the costs associated with township engineers processing, reviewing, inspecting and approving the engineering aspects of the plan,” Schnure said.

He noted that the commissioners “aren’t approving the plans themselves” but are simply approving the three-party agreement.

The Wawa looks to set up shop at 2850 Benner Pike, directly across from a rival Sheetz store. The store in Benner Township would be Wawa’s farthest Pennsylvania outpost from its established foothold in the Philadelphia area.

“Where Wawa is going to be located is at the corner of Benner Pike and Eagle Point,” Schnure said.

In 2022, Wawa announced plans to build 40 stores in central Pennsylvania, pushing into territory mostly overrun with Sheetz stores and other convenience store chains.

Schnure noted that the plan that was submitted was for the “final plan.”

“It’s for the construction of a 6,606-square-foot facility,” Schnure said.

Wawa will add to the gas wars along the Benner Pike. At the present time, there are three gas stations on the heavily traveled roadway — Sheetz, Rutter’s and, most recently, Giant supermarket.

“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 Centre County BOC Chair Mark Higgins. “In greater Bellefonte, at this point, a lot more businesses, a lot more activity.”

The primary access to the Wawa, Schnure said, will be at Eagle Point, where there will be a full in and out at the stoplight. Wawa is also proposing a right turn only onto the Benner Pike.

“If you want to get back onto I-99 … you can go directly out onto the Benner Pike with the right only,” Schnure said.

According to Schnure, a traffic impact study has been submitted to the Benner Township traffic engineer and to PennDOT.

“Those are being reviewed as we speak,” Schnure said.

Centre County’s first Wawa will feature 16 fueling stations in addition to the convenience store, which offers a variety of hot and cold beverages along with a full menu of hot foods, sandwiches and snacks.

Wawa currently has nearly 1,000 stores. Besides Pennsylvania, there are stores in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C., and the company is in the process of expanding to new states, including Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

The BOC passed the MOU unanimously.

The Centre County Board of Commissioners will meet again at 10 a.m. on July 25. That meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live by C-NET.