Plans Approved for Fireworks Store in College Township

A year-round fireworks store is coming to College Township.

Township council on Thursday unanimously approved a final land development plan for a 5,000-square-foot Jake’s Fireworks retail store on the former Sheetz site at the corner of East College Avenue and Pike Street.

The 2000 E. College Ave. store will be the first Pennsylvania location for the Kansas-based fireworks retailer, though it operates a distribution warehouse in Frackville. The company currently has stores Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Plans for the new store include 20 parking spaces and a loading area in front of the store. Additional paved areas not regularly used for parking will be used for overflow during peak business times, such as around the Fourth of July.

Existing access to the property will remain, with in and out from Pike Street and right-in, right-out from East College Avenue

Sidewalks will be constructed around the perimeter along College Avenue and Pike Street and through the interior of the property. The site will utilize existing stormwater basins.

The plans call for a Dumpster and recycling collection to be placed at the front of the property, in the same location as was used by Sheetz.

College Township Planning Commission requested that the trash and recycling area be moved away from the front of the property, a request echoed by several council members and township Manager Adam Brumbaugh during Thursday’s meeting.

“I’m really not a big fan of having it right out in front of the place and I can’t imagine Jake’s is thrilled with that either,” Councilman Paul Takac said.

Mark Toretti, of project engineer PennTerra, said he evaluated moving it to the rear of the property but overhead power lines made it infeasible because they posed a hazard to trucks.

The trash and recycling will be surrounded by a vinyl fence and landscaping.

“We tried to make it as nice possible knowing the situation of where it’s at on there,” Toretti said.

Brumbaugh said he “would strongly encourage,” Toretti to consider other options for the trash and recycling location, though he and council members noted the placement is at the discretion of the property owner.

Toretti agreed to take another look at other possible placements.

The property was home to a Sheetz convenience store and gas station for more than 20 years until it closed in 2015. The building was subsequently razed and pumps were removed. A land development plan for a car wash at the location was approved by the township in 2016 but the project never came to fruition and has expired.

The site was most recently used by State College Lawn Care.