Centre County’s Board of Commissioners on Tuesday received an overview of plans for convenience store chain Wawa’s third planned location in the county.
Wawa intends to build a a 6,577-square-foot convenience store on the former site of Snappy’s at the intersection of Earlystown Road/Route 45 and Old Fort Road/Route 144 in Potter Township, county subdivision and land development planner Christopher Schnure said. Snappy’s closed its location there in September 2023, citing circumstances beyond its control.
Plans for the Wawa include a pickup window for advance orders, eight fuel pumps accommodating 16 vehicles at a time under a canopy, underground fuel storage tanks, an air station, a trash corral and about 60 parking spaces. Access to the property would be from both Earlystown Road and Old Fort Road.
Wawa will lease the land from property owner Smith-Pletcher Home Association, which is associated with the Smith-Pletcher American Legion Post.
The existing structures on the site will be removed for construction of the Wawa, Schnure said. He added that he was unsure but would be inquiring about whether the Centre County Recycling and Refuse drop-off recycling containers located on the site would remain.
Commissioners moved forward a memorandum of understanding among the county, township and Wawa for the developer to reimburse the township for costs associated with processing, reviewing, inspecting and approving the engineering aspects of the plan. The land development plan will still require approval from the county planning commission.
Schnure said he did not have information about a timeframe for construction.
The Wawa store would be located across Earlystown Road from Dunkin’ and across Old Fort Road from Sheetz.
It’s the southeastern Pennsylvania-based company’s second plan to go head-to-head with its Keystone State convenience store chain rival in Centre County.
Wawa submitted its first plans for a Centre County location in 2023 for a store at Eagle Point on Benner Pike in Benner Township, directly across from Sheetz.
A land development plan for that location was conditionally approved by the Centre County Planning Commission that year. Wawa and project engineer PennTerra “are continuing to work their way through the conditions needed for authorization to start construction,” Schnure told StateCollege.com on Tuesday.
Wawa has also set in motion planning for a location at 169 W. Aaron Drive, at the intersection with North Atherton Street in Ferguson Township.
The company was granted a variance by the township zoning hearing board in September 2023 to allow encroachment of a fuel canopy into the setback on the former auto dealership property. Wawa representatives later presented a concept plan for the site to the township in September 2024.
A land development plan has not yet been submitted for the Ferguson Township location, but Wawa and development partner Provco Group completed the purchase of the property for $4 million on March 31, according to county records. Soil testing work was conducted on the site earlier this year.
