Faded signs stand in front of the current Wawa store at Forty Foot Road and Sumneytown Pike in Towamencin in December 2022. Photo by Dan Sokil | The Reporter.
Tom Verrichia, a member of the firm Towamencin Sumneytown Pike LLC, which owns the Wawa and former Lukoil parcels, updated township supervisors last month on the highly-anticipated project
Lawsuits at the state and federal level, coupled with family cancer diagnoses, have delayed the Wawa development in Towamencin Township at Forty Foot Road and Sumneytown Pike, as the public and supervisors found out from the property owner at last month’s meeting.
The Wawa development project at 1401 Forty Foot Road received conditional plan approval from the board in March 2020, and again on an updated plan in March 2023.
“I know (the development) has been the subject of public interest and inquiry. The project is a priority for me and my team. It was approved with the expectation it would enhance the community, both economically and functionally,” said Tom Verrichia, managing member and project manager for property owners Towamencin-Sumneytown LLC, at the July 23 meeting.
Verrichia oversees The Verrichia Company, a Doylestown-based real estate development firm focused on commercial property development and redevelopment for local businesses in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Indiana. The five-member South Main Street firm has developed Wawa locations and, according to the company website, has experienced PennDOT-related issues and instances where Wawa withdrew from development sites.
“Unfortunately, over the past several years, the project has been delayed, involving complex legal disputes from outside parties, specifically (Wawa developer) ARC Property Trust, a joint venture property of mine for 12 years and was the tenant for the project,” Verrichia said. “These matters center around contested development agreements and lease agreements that were essential for moving forward.”
Verrichia said he was unable to go into detail on the nature of the proceedings.
“I can confirm that formal actions prepared in both federal and state courts to address what I believe to be serious business disruptions and contractual violations,” he said.
Furthermore, Verrichia said his family has been privately navigating two serious cancer-related challenges that began last fall.
“I mention this, not to elicit sympathy, but to offer a honest context of personal and professional obstacles that have compounded these delays,” he said. “We are committed to the project and fulfilling expectations.”
Verrichia said he would share with the township when development can move forward.
“We are actively working to resolve legal issues and the goal is to resume forward progress as son as matters are resolved,” he said.
Supervisor Chuck Wilson asked if breaking ground in August is no longer an accurate prediction.
“Not right now. Probably closer to the fall,” Verrichia said. “I will say to you that our contractors are ready on a minute’s notice for construction and demolition.”
According to online documents, Towamencin Sumneytown Pike LLC was involved in a zoning-based lawsuit with Philadelphia Suburban Development Corp. over easement issues, as the Wawa and former Lukoil properties abut PSDC parcels.
Plans date back to 2017 for a project combining two lots, a current Wawa store and the now-demolished adjacent former Lukoil station on the corner, into one larger lot that would have a Wawa fuel station and store in front and an early version had a separate retail building behind.
New renderings were shown in late 2022, with the building featuring a brick façade and pyramid roof meant to match the nearby buildings, and an approval in early 2023 included an updated lighting plan for the parking spaces surrounding the planned building.
