Towamencin Wawa approvals could be extended into 2026

A  time extension is in the works for a long-awaited upgrade to a much-discussed intersection in Towamencin.

Township officials heard an update this week about a planned Super Wawa on the corner of Sumneytown Pike and Forty Foot Road, and an updated timeline after years of delays.

“The township has been helpful throughout the process. You’re not to blame in any way, shape or form,” said attorney Bill Dion on behalf of developer The Verrichia Co..

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.

In 2024, the developer sought extensions of the prior approvals and said work could start as soon as that summer, and this August, the same developer said delays had been due to a mix of litigation and health issues.

Up for discussion on Oct. 8 was a request from the developer to extend a prior approval from the township zoning hearing board for signage on the site, which would have expired on Oct. 10, for another year until the same date in 2026.

    Site Renderings of new Wawa store proposed for the corner of Forty Foot Road and Sumneytown Pike, as presented to Towamencin’s supervisors on Nov. 22, 2022.
 Screenshot/Vimeo   

“I would suggest the zoning hearing board does their thing, as they usually do, and we do not send our solicitor,” said supervisor Chuck Wilson, to either oppose or support the request from the developer for the zoning board to extend that approval.         

“They’ll make the decision like they usually do. I don’t see a need to (send the solicitor). It’s their call, so I’m just saying, let them make their call,” he said.

Supervisors Chair Joyce Snyder noted that the prior approval would expire before any upcoming zoning board, and Dion then said he and the developer’s team have been meeting with township staff to hammer out final details on the plans for the Super Wawa.

“Which is going to be built?” Dion said, and Snyder replied, “Do you pinky-swear?” and the attorney replied, “It’s gotta get done.”

“We explained some of the challenges that occurred over the past couple of years — a multitude of things, it’s really not worth getting into them — but we’ve worked through them. We are extending another (environmental) permit currently,” he said. 

“We’re confident that we are going to break ground on it, probably in the next six months is when we get the other permits,” Dion said.

During talks with staff, both realized that the October township zoning hearing board meeting had been canceled due to a holiday. The attorney told the board, a request filed to that board before the prior approval expired could then be approved in November, after the expiration date, without causing any issues.

“Technically, we have the application in. Staff and the zoning hearing board solicitor felt comfortable that it would keep it alive until October of 2026,” he said.

Wilson then repeated his motion that the supervisors stay neutral on the request, and supervisor Kristin Warner said she agreed, then asked the developer if any holdup was caused by the township, and the attorney said, “Absolutely not.”

“Not a single thing the township has done has delayed it,” he said.

Warner then made a formal motion that the township stay neutral. Wilson seconded, and the full board unanimously agreed to stay neutral on the extension request until October 2026.

Towamencin’s supervisors next meet at 7 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the township administration building, 1090 Troxel Road. For more information, visit www.Towamencin.org.

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