Wawa Breaks Ground for State College Area Store

Wawa’s first store in the immediate State College area is moving closer to reality.

Joined by local officials and excited community members, representatives of the Pennsylvania convenience store and gas station chain on Tuesday held a ceremonial groundbreaking for Wawa’s new location at 169 W. Aaron Dr. in Ferguson Township.

“We are thrilled to officially kick off construction on our first store here in State College,” Phil Horn, area manager for Wawa, said. “For years, we’ve heard people asking us to bring our stores to your community, and we are thrilled to finally be here.”

Site work will continue over the coming months for the 5,330-square-foot convenience store and six fueling islands on a former auto dealership property at the corner of Aaron Drive and North Atherton Street. Construction will then get underway and take approximately nine months, Chris Edwards, Wawa director of store operations, said.

The new location, which will operate 24 hours a day, could open “hopefully” by the end of 2027, Edwards said.

Wawa officials also used the occasion to provide an update on the Delaware County company’s overall expansion plans for Central Pennsylvania, part of a growth westward in the commonwealth that began two years ago.

Centre County’s first Wawa location, which is deep into construction at the intersection of Benner Pike and Eagle Point near Bellefonte, is expected to open in the first half of 2027, Edwards said.

“We’re super excited,” he said. “Site’s up, building’s going great, and we’re ready to serve that community.”

The Benner Township store will be located directly across the road from Sheetz and a short distance from Rutter’s. Edwards was unsure if the proximity to the rival Pennsylvania chains played a role in the site selection by Wawa’s real estate team, but said the best fit is always the priority when choosing a new location.

“I think we always look for great sites where we can service our communities, and I think that’s the priority that we look for when we’re choosing a site,” he said. “I think, overall, those are those are great companies, and, Wawa, we’re really proud of what we do, and those companies are as well. So I think there’s plenty of room for all of us, and we’re super excited to be out here in this market.”

Edwards had no specific updates on planned locations for the intersection of East College Avenue and Squirrel Drive in College Township and the intersection of Earlystown Road and Old Fort Road in Potter Township, on the former Snappy’s site and also directly across from Sheetz.

Wawa has plans to open 10 stores over the next five years in what it calls the State College market, defined by Edwards as within a 45 to 60 minute radius of State College.

The first of those opened in Yeagertown, Mifflin County in April, and another is under construction in Mill Hall, Clinton County, with an expected opening in the first half of 2027.

Each Wawa store is a $7.5 million investment and employs about 35 people, Horn said. Throughout the greater Central Pennsylvania market, the company plans to open about 40 stores in the coming years, resulting in about 400 jobs.

“Once open, our stores will have products and services that provide a unique and compelling offer, including our special combination of food service, fuel and convenience not found anywhere else,” Horn said. “With every new project, we work with our communities and officials to develop and build a store that will become a true asset in the community.”

To mark the groundbreaking for the first in a State College ZIP code, Tuesday’s event was a celebration complete with Wawa hoagies, baked pretzels, cookies, iced tea, coffee and more, as well as a few diehards sharing the stories of their Wawa affinity.

Among them was Matt Heller, a member of the Ferguson Township Board of Supervisors, which approved plans for the Aaron Drive location in December 2025.

Heller recalled his many visits to Wawa as a child in Montgomery County, and later when he was a student at the Penn State Abington campus and served in the Air National Guard.

“This is big for Centre County, for Ferguson Township, having Wawa as our neighbor,” Heller said. “Wawa has always been there for me, and I’m excited to have Wawa come back into my life.”

Tuesday’s event also included the presentation of $2,500 donations from the Wawa Foundation to two local nonprofit partners: the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and Penn State’s THON.

Wawa has contributed $220 million national and local charity partners supporting causes of “health, hunger and everyday heroes” since 2014, said Wawa Foundation President Liz Simeone.

“It is a testament to who we are as a company” Simeone said. “It’s part of our DNA.”