EMMAUS, Pa. — The empty lot on Chestnut Street in Emmaus likely will stay that way in the coming months, Borough Manager Shane Pepe said Thursday, but the project to build a new Turkey Hill still is under way.
- Emmaus Planning Commission got updates on projects, including the long-delayed Turkey Hill reconstruction on the corner on Chestnut and 6th streets
- The project is moving along with permitting, but when building is to resume is unclear, aside from a legal requirement to resume by January
- A new fully automatic single-lane car wash was proposed to replace the current car wash on South 12th Street across from Weis
Pepe said that since 2021, the Turkey Hill that existed on the lot at 602 Chestnut St. bought adjacent properties of former Rita's Italian Ice and storage buildings, preparing for an expanded location.
"There's a lot of social media rumors saying that it's delayed because the borough has demanded things, which is absolutely untrue," Pepe said.
"What's going on is that buses sitting there stopped and everybody's trying to go around them and almost colliding in the traffic in the other lane."Emmaus Borough Manager Shane Pepe
Pepe said the busiest LANTA bus stop in the community is there, and the only request the borough made in the process was an indent into the property's future parking for the bus to not interrupt traffic when parked for riders.
"There was one thing that we asked for the entire project," Pepe said. "We said 'Hey, there's a real danger here that we've been dealing with.'
"What's going on is that buses sitting there stopped and everybody's trying to go around them and almost colliding in the traffic in the other lane."
Other causes for delays
There were some delays from PennDOT, however, as examination of nearby red lights was required as part of the permitting process, in which the project applicants are continuing to engage.
A larger part of the delay, though, Pepe said, is related to property ownership.
Turkey Hill rented the property on its original lot rather than owning it, and because of the convenience store chain being bought by EG America and the property owners having died, more work was needed.
Pepe said the convenience store company eventually attained the property for about $900,000 in 2022, while pursuing permits required for the project to continue — before progress on the site stopped aside from some intermittent changes to the lot.
"Their project was a million dollars over budget before they even put a shovel in the dirt."Emmaus Borough Manager Shane Pepe
"Their project was a million dollars over budget before they even put a shovel in the dirt," Pepe said.
"In the middle of everything, it changed lawyers, it changed engineers. All this stuff changed, and nobody knew that they were forgetting a major piece to move forward. And that was they didn't have control of their own property."
Pepe said it set them back at a time when material costs already were increasing because of economic impacts during the coronavirus pandemic.
'They are moving forward'
He said some work was done, along with getting needed approvals on the property before "all of a sudden, out of nowhere," work on the site stopped.
Turkey Hill recently sold the gas tanks bought for the lot, Pepe said, to make a profit when prices for those materials increased drastically and the project was on hold before ordering new ones.
Since March, a fence also has been removed and since returned to the property.
They are moving forward. Their intention is to move forward. That's what they're telling us otherwise, I don't think they'd be spending any more money at this point.Emmaus Borough Manager Shane Pepe
EG America, the parent company to the Turkey Hill convenience market brand and U.S. branch of the British EG Group, was reached out to for comment.
That does not mean the project is dead. Pepe said he is aware the company is finishing PennDOT paperwork and requested signings from him related to signs that would be displayed by the business.
"They are moving forward," Pepe said. "Their intention is to move forward. That's what they're telling us otherwise, I don't think they'd be spending any more money at this point."
Work is yet to resume on the property.
Six months were given for work to begin again, and another six months added by the former borough code officer, Pepe said, meaning it has to restart by January, but there is some optimism for construction to resume earlier.
New car wash
An updated and remade car wash has been proposed for the 17 S. 12th St., across from Emmaus' Weis supermarket.
The current proposals by developer Jeff Trainer include demolishing the current car wash to replace it with a single-aisle drive-through-style wash, along with a parking area with multiple vacuum spaces.
Applicant representatives spoke of it being a 24/7, fully automatic AUTEC car wash system that would be activated by customers.
"You can bring expensive cars, different things that you know, that you would not normally have" in a car wash. "The models of this is a little bit different than anything that's around here."A representative for the project applicant
"You can bring expensive cars, different things that you know, that you would not normally have" in a car wash a representative for the applicant stated. "The models of this is a little bit different than anything that's around here."
The planning commission voted to send the project on to borough council with comments on current plans to be addressed related to dumpster placement, and concerns related to the sentence and exit of the site.
Commissioners voiced concern over the queueing within the layout, noting the small amount of space on South 12th Street prior to Chestnut Street, and vacuum placement.
The planning commission approved the proposal, sending it along to Borough Council, which will review it at a future meeting.
