Fireworks Store Proposed for Former Sheetz Site in College Township

A fireworks store could be coming to a former Sheetz site in College Township.

Jake’s Fireworks, a Kansas-based chain, submitted a sketch plan to the township on Nov. 8 for a 5,000-square foot retail facility at the intersection of East College Avenue and Pike Street.

Sketch plans are intended to introduce a project and receive feedback from the township. A land development plan would need to be submitted and approved before it could move forward.

The plan also includes 20 parking spaces and a loading area. Additional paved areas striped for no parking would be used if needed for overflow parking during peak business times leading up to the Fourth of July, project engineer Mark Toretti, of PennTerra Engineering, wrote in a letter to the College Township Planning Department accompanying the sketch plan.

Existing full access from Pike Street and the right in/right out along East College Avenue would be maintained.

College Township Planning Commission is scheduled to review the plan during its meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

It would be the first Jake’s Fireworks retail store in Pennsylvania, though the company operates a warehouse in Schuylkill County. It currently has stores Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Oklahoma.

The 2000 E. College Ave. property was home to a Sheetz convenience store and gas station for about 27 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 previously approved by the township but the project never came to fruition.

The site is currently used by State College Lawn Care.