Another new Centre County Wawa location is part of a planned commercial development along East College Avenue in College Township.
A sketch plan submitted to the township includes a 6,657-square foot Wawa store and eight fuel pumps at the corner of East College Avenue and Squirrel Drive, just below the Aspen State College mixed-use student housing development. College Township Planning Commission is scheduled to review the early proposal on Tuesday, according to the meeting agenda.
It is the southeastern Pennsylvania-based convenience store and gas station chain’s fourth planned location in Centre County as the company continues a westward expansion in the the commonwealth. Work is currently underway for the first at Eagle Point along Benner Pike in Benner Township, while planning has also advanced for a Wawa at the corner of North Atherton Street and Aaron Drive in Ferguson Township and another at the intersection of Earlystown Road and Old Fort Road in Potter Township.
Wawa officials previously disclosed the College Township site as a future location during a community partnership event at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in September, though the sketch plan represents the first time a specific proposal has been made public.
The sketch plan for the College Township site also includes a future retail development that “may include” a two-story building with 7,200 square feet for multi-tenant retail space and a 3,600-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru adjacent to the western side of the Wawa property, according to the sketch plan and project narrative letter submitted by PennTerra Engineering on behalf of property owner Welteroth Property Group.
Entrance and exit for the development would be from a right-in, right-out on East College Avenue on the retail building side of the parcel, and a driveway from Squirrel Drive accessed via the signalized intersection at College Avenue on the east side.
A right turn lane on East College Avenue and a traffic signal alteration were already constructed as part of the Aspen State College project, and, per a traffic study for the new development, Squirrel Drive would be widened to include a right turn lane on to East College Avenue, according to the project narrative.
Sidewalks will be constructed to provide pedestrian access to East College Avenue and Squirrel Drive.
Stormwater will be managed by underground facilities. A riparian buffer along Thompson Run was included in the Aspen project and will not be impacted by the new development, according to the project narrative.
The proposed project is located in the Gateway Commercial District and has been designed to meet the zoning requirements, according to the letter.
Sketch plans are not formal submissions and are intended to garner feedback prior to a formal land development plan.
Both phases of the project will be submitted as a preliminary land development plan, followed immediately by a final land development plan for the Wawa, PennTerra wrote.
Construction for the Wawa is expected to begin 2027.
A final land development plan for the retail building will be submitted upon tenant commitments.
