NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — North Whitehall Township may soon get a new Wawa and Lehigh Valley Health Network office building.
Plans for a Wawa with gas pumps are part of the proposed King’s Route 309 Business Park in Schnecksville. The development may also include the hospital network building, but the agreement is not finalized, officials told the township Planning Commission on Tuesday.
- North Whitehall may get a new Wawa in Schnecksville
- It would be part of the proposed King’s Route 309 Business Park, which planners discussed Tuesday but did not take any action
- The commercial development may also include a new Lehigh Valley Health Network office building
Planners discussed the proposed commercial development, which would be on 12 acres at Schneck Road and Route 309.
The current plan includes a two-lane traffic circle that would replace the intersection of Routes 309 and 873.
Chris Williams with Barry Isett & Associates spoke on behalf of developer King’s Real Estate Management & Development Company. He said the developer considered other traffic designs at the intersection, but that was the only one that worked.
“It seems to be the only traffic solution that's deemed to be acceptable by PennDOT, and, really, by us,” Williams said, “because every other concept we looked at… does not function anywhere near any acceptable level of service.”
"It's their vote."Chris Williams with Barry Isett & Associates
Planners and residents raised issues with the traffic circle, but Williams said PennDOT has control over its design because it owns the roads.
“It’s their vote,” he said.
King’s Real Estate Management & Development Company is based in Hamburg, Berks County. The company owns King’s Plaza Schnecksville, also along Route 873.
Township supervisors granted conditional use approval for the plan in November 2020.
What does the plan include?
The current plan has a two-story, 15,000 square-foot medical office building, a 6,800-square-foot automotive parts facility and a 6,000-square-foot convenience store with gasoline pumps.
King’s Real Estate Vice President of Legal Affairs Jerry Blecker said the company has an agreement with Wawa and an automotive parts facility.
Blecker said the company is in the final stages of an agreement with Lehigh Valley Health Network for the medical office building, but it has not yet been finalized.
The complex has a fourth building that originally was going to be a self-storage facility, but Blecker said the company is considering different types of businesses for it.
It is in talks with a daycare facility and a car wash, but there are no set agreements, he said.
Next steps
Planners gave feedback for the plan but took no action on it. The commission likely will discuss the plan again in the coming months.
The developer is requesting the township to consider its plan as a preliminary/final submission, meaning if the plan is approved, it would not need to go before the township again.
“We've designed everything to meet preliminary and final standards,” Williams said.
The planning commission meeting was the first with new member Kathy Crawford. She asked about noise and light mitigation. Williams said the developer would look into the issue.
The board previously had no female members.
