Recreational Marijuana Businesses Get the Green Light from Mount Laurel Township Council.

An ordinance permitting the retail and wholesale sale, cultivation and manufacture of recreational marijuana in town was approved Monday night by the Mount Laurel Township Council.

The Mount Laurel ordinance calls for the maximum local tax allowed under state law: separate 2% levies on each sale by retailers, manufacturers or cultivators and 1% on each sale by wholesalers.

Douglas Cooper of Camber Lane asked if there were plans to set aside tax revenue for drug treatment or similar programs.

Mayor Stephen Steglik said that when the Township begins to see revenue coming in, decisions will be made on where it should go.

“It’s hard to say how much money is going to come in from this,” Steglik said. 

Under the local ordinance, the marijuana businesses may operate in commercial or industrial zones, but cannot locate closer than 1,000 feet from schools, child-care centers, houses of worship, public parks, behavioral health care facilities or residential medical detoxification centers.

The Council had approved the ordinance at its first reading on May 24 and the Planning Board endorsed it last week, saying it was in compliance with the Township Master Plan. The only member of the public to speak on the ordinance Monday night was Cooper.

Municipalities across New Jersey are wrestling with whether or not to permit marijuana sales inside their borders. They have until August 21, when the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission will disclose the state regulations. A municipality that does not vote by the deadline automatically opens up its commercial and industrial districts to marijuana with no local restrictions. Some communities already have voted to ban sales.

Voters across the state last November overwhelmingly decided to permit recreational marijuana in New Jersey. The recreational use is limited to people 21 years and older.

*Article courtesy of 70and73

For more information about this Mount Laurel retail space or about any other Mount Laurel commercial properties for sale or lease, please contact the team at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker at 856-857-6300.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services related to this retail space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate also offers property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, warehouse properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail spaces and other Mount Laurel commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers. Please visit our websites for a full listing of Mount Laurel commercial real estate properties.

Mount Laurel Making it Law: Micro-breweries, Distilleries, Wine Rooms Permitted Around Town

When visitors set out to sample the beer at ‘Bout The Hops Brewing in Mount Laurel, they sometimes need a little extra guidance to find the place.

The micro-brewery is “in an industrial complex camouflaged in office building setting,” its website advises. “Fret not. You are not lost,” it says.

This 1½-year-old business is Mount Laurel’s sole brewery and opened in an industrial zone because that has been the only legal location in town for such operations.

Co-owner Kevin Quinn told 70and73.com the industrial zoning has its benefits, including cheaper rents per square foot, a loading dock and the potential for expansion. But he acknowledged a brewery in a commercial site on a main street would get more foot traffic, albeit in fixed-size space at higher-per-foot costs.

Soon, his micro-brewery — with selections that include TuHop Shakur, Time Continuum Disfunctioner and Hoptimus Prime — may get competition in town, which is something Quinn said he welcomes. Craft beer lovers often go on brewery hops — visiting several breweries in one sweep — so a higher concentration in one area can benefit all, he explained.

The Mount Laurel Township Council last Monday passed the first reading of an ordinance that would permit micro-breweries, craft distilleries and wineries and their tasting rooms in other parts of town. A public hearing on the ordinance and final approval is scheduled at the June 14 Township Council meeting.

Bill Giegerich, Mount Laurel’s economic development director, told 70and73.com that the new law would permit the alcohol-sampling rooms in neighborhood commercial areas, such as strip shopping centers, as well as in the town’s other business and industrial districts.

Giegerich said the Township has had continuing inquiries from businesses that want to open the micro-breweries or related businesses in town. To open anywhere but in industrial districts, a potentially lengthy and expensive application process would be needed to secure zoning variances, he said. The new ordinance seeks to bypass that process.

Neighboring Moorestown, a dry community for nearly 100 years until a voter referendum in 2011, on May 10 passed a similar ordinance. Giegerich said Mount Laurel studied Moorestown’s ordinance in crafting its own law. Mount Laurel’s new ordinance probably won’t go into effect until sometime in July, he said.

At ‘Bout The Hops, or BTH Brewing, the owners made many visits to Home Depot and built the outlet themselves, going for a rustic look, said Quinn, who used to live in Mount Laurel, but now resides in Columbus. 

“Every brewery is a little unique,” he explained. BTH focuses more on IPA (India Pale Ale) beers than some other micro-breweries in the area. Visitors can sample the craft beer from as many as nine of the 18 taps at BTH, where flights of four or six glasses are sold.

Like other micro-breweries operating under state law, BTH can serve small snacks, such as chips and pretzels, with the beer but cannot serve food. Some visitors order from local restaurants, often using menus on the wall or menus dropped in a bin by BTH or visitors themselves, Quinn said. In approving the operations, local officials have pointed to the economic benefits of brewery take-out orders on the local restaurant industry.

*Article courtesy of 70and73

For more information about this Mount Laurel retail space or about any other Mount Laurel commercial properties for sale or lease, please contact the team at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker at 856-857-6300.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services related to this retail space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate also offers property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, warehouse properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail spaces and other Mount Laurel commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers. Please visit our websites for a full listing of Mount Laurel commercial real estate properties.

Jersey Mike’s location coming to Mount Laurel in Centerton Square

The Centerton Square shopping center is getting a new sub shop.

A Jersey Mike’s location will open there Thursday, according to franchisees of the popular sub chain. 

Starting Thursday, the restaurant will be open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, according to a press release. 

Patrons can order using “any option imaginable,” said Matt Catania, co-owner of the new location. Options include takeout, delivery and, at least at first, indoor seating at 50 percent capacity due to COVID restrictions. The location will be able to seat 20 people at full capacity, according to Catania. 

Customers can place delivery and pick-up orders on the Jersey Mike’s app. They can also make delivery orders through Uber Eats and DoorDash, and pick up orders over the phone by calling 856-924-6767. 

Catania and his business partner, John Helm, own 29 other Jersey Mike’s locations around the state, including several in Burlington County. 

But they had been eyeing the Centerton Square shopping center for a decade, Catania said. They had a chance at another Centerton spot a few years ago, but missed out. Last summer, a different space became available, and the partners jumped on it. 

Centerton Square also has a Target, a Wegmans and a Starbucks, among other businesses. 

“From a business perspective, it’s got everything you can imagine,” Catania said. “Great co-tenancy. Visibility. It’s like the town hub.”

The co-owners have hired 15 people from Mount Laurel and its surrounding area to staff their new place, including five full-time employees. All staff members will be wearing masks during their shifts for as long as the pandemic lasts, Catania said.

The first Jersey Mike’s location opened in Point Pleasant in 1956. There are now almost 2,000 stores in the United States. 

Catania and Helm have been franchisees for 10 years. They are from Point Pleasant and remember the original location as a neighborhood hangout/lunch spot.

“We can’t wait,” he added. 

*Article courtesy of Burlington County Times

For more information about this Mount Laurel retail space or about any other Mount Laurel commercial properties for sale or lease, please contact the team at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker at 856-857-6300.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services related to this retail space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate also offers property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, warehouse properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail spaces and other Mount Laurel commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers. Please visit our websites for a full listing of Mount Laurel commercial real estate properties.

Retail Space for Lease in Mount Laurel on Marne Highway

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, the foremost Mount Laurel commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services, now is offering premier Mount Laurel retail space for lease at 3163 Marne Highway Mount Laurel NJ.

This Mount Laurel retail space for lease has 1,200-4,000 sf of retail space and, in addition, there is 4,000 sf of office space at this retail space for lease in Mount Laurel. The asking lease price for this retail space in Mount Laurel at 3163 Marne Highway Mount Laurel NJ is $14.00 sf NNN.

This retail space for lease in Mount Laurel is available through Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that specializes in Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services.

This Mount Laurel retail space for lease is available for immediate occupancy and there is abundant parking at this retail space for lease in Mount Laurel at 3163 Marne Highway Mount Laurel NJ. There also is highly visible signage at this retail space in Mount Laurel.

There is easy access to Route 38 and Interstate 295 from this retail space for lease in Mount Laurel. This retail space in Mount Laurel is available through Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Nearly 133,000 potential customers live within five miles of this Mount Laurel retail space for lease at 3163 Marne Highway Mount Laurel NJ and the average household income within that same radius of this retail space in Mount Laurel is $104,314.

For more information about this Mount Laurel retail space for lease at 3163 Marne Highway Mount Laurel NJ or about any other Mount Laurel commercial properties for sale or lease, please contact Bethany Brown (856-857-6396; bethany.brown@wolfcre.com) at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, warehouse properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Mount Laurel commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers. Please visit our websites for a full listing of Mount Laurel commercial properties for lease or sale through our Mount Laurel commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Mount Laurel Gym Expected to Become a Car Wash

The township zoning board has approved plans to convert a Route 73 gym into a car wash.

Valet Car Wash will create a sudsy tunnel up to 200 feet long in a two-story building that’s most recently held Giant Fitness, said Chris Vernon, the firm’s founder.

The zoning board, which previously rejected a proposed medical marijuana dispensary at the site, unanimously approved Vernon’s application at a virtual meeting Wednesday.

The car wash will occupy a 14,800-square-foot building that’s most recently held Giant Fitness and previously was home to a DiSimone Cadillac dealership.

The business will be the 14th location for Vernon’s company, which is based in Hamilton, Mercer County.

The highly automated facility will employ two to four people, Vernon said.

“There are no employees that touch your car,” he observed.

Patrons spend about three minutes going through the carwash tunnel, then have the option of using about 13 indoor or 38 outdoor vacuum stations, Vernon said.

He said about 25,000 customers belong to a company club that allows unlimited washes for a monthly fee. Other customers pay on an individual-visit basis.

The zoning board in September rebuffed a proposal by Curaleaf, which describes itself as the world’s largest cannabis company, to open a medical marijuana dispensary at the two-acre site.

Board members cited the feared impact of the dispensary on traffic and the surrounding community.

Valet Car Wash needed a use variance from the board because the business would not normally be permitted at the Route 73 site, which is zoned for industrial use. Board members also granted preliminary and final site plan approvals.

It was the second car wash to win approval in the area within recent weeks.

Evesham’s planning board last month gave final approval to a Sammy’s Express Car Wash, which is to be constructed at the former site of G-Boys Garden and Christmas Center on Route 70.

The two sites are less than two miles apart.

*Article courtesy of Courier Post

For more information about this Mount Laurel retail space or about any other Mount Laurel commercial properties for sale or lease, please contact the team at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker at 856-857-6300.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services related to this retail space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate also offers property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, warehouse properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail spaces and other Mount Laurel commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers. Please visit our websites for a full listing of Mount Laurel commercial real estate properties.

Mount Laurel Retail Space for Lease on Marne Highway

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, the foremost Mount Laurel commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services, now is offering premier Mount Laurel retail space for lease at 3163 Marne Highway Mount Laurel NJ.

This Mount Laurel retail space for lease has 1,200-4,000 sf of retail space and 4,000 sf of office space available. In addition, this Mount Laurel retail space for lease at 3163 Marne Highway Mount Laurel is at the signalized intersection of Marne Highway and Larchmont Boulevard.

The asking lease price for this retail space in Mount Laurel at 3163 Marne Highway Mount Laurel NJ is $14.00/sf NNN. This retail space in Mount Laurel is available for immediate occupancy through Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that specializes in Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services.

There is abundant parking at this Mount Laurel retail space for lease and there also is visible signage at this Mount Laurel retail space for lease at 3163 Marne Highway Mount Laurel NJ. There is easy access to both Route 38 and I-295 from this retail space in Mount Laurel.

This retail space in Mount Laurel is available through Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate brokerage firm. In addition to retail applications, this retail space in Mount Laurel also is ideal as an office or a medical leasing opportunity.

Nearly 133,000 potential customers live within five miles of this Mount Laurel retail space for lease at 3163 Marne Highway Mount Laurel NJ and the average household income within that same radius of this retail space in Mount Laurel is $104,314.

For more information about this Mount Laurel retail space for lease at 3163 Marne Highway Mount Laurel NJ or about any other Mount Laurel commercial properties for sale or lease, please contact Bethany Brown (856-857-6396; bethany.brown@wolfcre.com) at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, warehouse properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings, and other Mount Laurel commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers. Please visit our websites for a full listing of Mount Laurel commercial properties for lease or sale through our Mount Laurel commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Mount Laurel Board Approves Plan for Route 38 Wawa

A divided township board has approved plans for a Wawa store that faced opposition from residents here.

An online audience of more than 100 people attended the zoning board’s Zoom meeting Thursday night, and many spoke against the proposed project off Route 38 and Hartford Road.

Critics argued the 1.7-acre site off eastbound 38 was too small and asserted the store would create traffic problems.

The complex, with a 4,700-square-foot store and six fueling stations, also would wrap around a family-run gas station, Stiles Sunoco, that’s operated at the intersection for decades.

The Sunoco station’s operators, who had urged community members to fight Wawa’s plan, were the first to speak against the project.

“Competition is not our concern,” asserted Darlin-Jo Wilson, a township resident.

She said Wawa was “squeezing” its complex onto the site.

“Their plan requires too many deviations in too little a space,” she said of Wawa, which requested more than two dozen variances and waivers from the board.

The board’s solicitor, Evan Crook, said the board could not consider criticisms based on traffic fears. He noted highways surrounding the site are under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Transportation.

The store also would have frontage on Walnut and Sixth avenues.

Some board members shared residents’ concerns over the property’s size.

“I’m not sure it’s a good fit. It’s almost like a Taj Mahal going on a postage stamp,” said Alan Kramer. 

“I just don’t think the site is suitable,” added board member Brian List.

But the board voted 5-2 to allow a conditional use variance for fuel sales at the Wawa site, with Kramer joining the majority.

Members split 4-3 to grant site plan approval and additional variances, this time with Kramer joining the minority.

The meeting was the board’s third session with the Wawa project on its agenda.

A Dec. 2 hearing could not be held when more than 200 people tried to attend the board’s online session, overwhelming the Zoom capacity of 100 people.

A Dec. 16 meeting focused on a presentation by Wawa representatives,

“We look forward to moving ahead with the project and working on another location in Mount Laurel,” said Tyler Prime, an attorney for Wawa.

A one-story building on Hartford Road, the current home of Macro Equipment Co., is to be demolished to make way for the Wawa project.

Construction could be complete within six to nine months of building permits being issued, according to the developer.

Wawa, which is based in suburban Philadelphia, has almost 900 locations in six states and the District of Columbia.

*Article courtesy of Courier Post

  • For more information about this Mount Laurel retail space or about any other Mount Laurel commercial properties for sale or lease, please contact the team at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker at 856-857-6300.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services related to this retail space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate also offers property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, warehouse properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail spaces and other Mount Laurel commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers. Please visit our websites for a full listing of Mount Laurel commercial properties for lease or sale through our Mount Laurel commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Wawa Offers its Case for a New Mount Laurel Store on Route 38; Meeting Adjourned to December 30.

Representatives of Wawa and a developer presented their case to the Mount Laurel Township zoning board Wednesday night in a controversial proposal to build a convenience store/gasoline station combination on Route 38 and Hartford Road. 

The “super” Wawa would be on the same block and next door to Stiles Sunoco Ultra Service Center, a family-owned gasoline and service station that has operated on the corner for decades and has a loyal customer base. More than 100 people attended the virtual meeting, held on the Zoom software platform.

“It hurt when they (Wawa) opened on the other side of (Route) 295,” station owner Shawn Wilson told 70and73.com in a telephone interview in late November. He said having Wawa neighboring his station would “devastate” the business. Wilson, who lives in Mount Laurel, owns the business with his wife, Darlin-Jo Wilson, whose father founded the business.

Members of the public did not have time to testify before the Zoning Board of Adjustment adjourned shortly after 10 p.m. The board set the next special meeting on the proposal for December 30 at 7 p.m. to continue to hear testimony.

The proposed Wawa would be bounded by Route 38, Hartford Road and Walnut and Sixth avenues. A Taco Bell restaurant — across from the Wawa on Walnut Avenue and facing Route 38 — was approved by the township Planning Board on the former location of a Beneficial Bank.

A right-turn entrance, and no exit, is planned from the eastbound lanes of Route 38. The driveway would be about 40 feet from the Sunoco driveway. Entrance and exit driveways also would be on Sixth Avenue and Hartford Road. The Hartford Road entrance and exit would permit only right turns.

Board member Alan Kramer raised a concern over the safety of locating the proposed Wawa driveway on Route 38 about 40 feet from the Sunoco driveway. He also noted the driveways are in the lane for cars making the turn onto the Walnut Avenue jug handle. He was told the state Department of Transportation — Route 38 is a state highway — requested that the Wawa entrance be located where it is.

The convenience store and gasoline sales would be a 24-hour operation.

Board solicitor Evan Crook, a lawyer with the Cherry Hill law firm of Malamut & Associates, said at the beginning of the meeting that board members must consider only “relevant evidence” when making a decision on a zoning application. The economic impact, either on the applicant or other parties — in this case, Stiles Sunoco — are not relevant facts to be considered by the board, Crook explained.

Board planner Joseph Petrongolo of Remington & Vernick Engineers of Haddonfield followed Crook and said the Wawa is a permitted use under the township’s zoning ordinances, so the board cannot focus on whether the use is compatible with the site or area. However, the board can decide if the project merits the granting of several exceptions from the conditions.

The developer is seeking exceptions that include:

  • The lot-width requirement is 200 feet, but the lot is only 125 feet wide.
  • Walls of buildings must be set back at least 50 feet from the street, but the back wall of the Wawa would be 24 feet from Sixth Avenue.
  • The building height may not exceed 20 feet, but the applicant proposes a 33-foot building.
  • Outdoor displays selling goods is not permitted, but Wawa wants to install a kiosk for a propane tank exchange outside its store.
  • Mount Laurel’s zoning law also prohibits the combination of retail store and motor vehicle service stations. Wawa seeks relief to combine fuel sales with retail sales.

Representatives of Wawa and the developer said the marriage of convenience stores and gasoline sales makes sense and is standard practice throughout the nation. NACS, the trade association for the convenience store/gasoline sale industry, reports that 80% of the gasoline sales in the United States are made at convenience stores.

Mike Redel, who works for Wawa as a project engineer, said Wawa opened its first Mount Laurel store — at Church Road and Ramblewood Parkway — in 1972, eight years after the chain was founded. Since then, Wawa has closed many of its traditional standalone stores in favor of the convenience store/gasoline station combinations.

Although Wawa has been adding solar panels at other stores, Wawa does not plan to use them at this site, said the developer’s engineer, Matthew Sharo of Dynamic Engineering Consultants of Lake Como, Monmouth County.

*Article courtesy of 70 and 73

For more information about this Mount Laurel retail space or about any other Mount Laurel commercial properties for sale or lease, please contact the team at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker at 856-857-6300.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services related to this retail space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate also offers property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, warehouse properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail spaces and other Mount Laurel commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers. Please visit our websites for a full listing of Mount Laurel commercial properties for lease or sale through our Mount Laurel commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Giant Fitness Gym on Route 73 in Mount Laurel Might Be Converted into a Carwash

A failed plan for a medical marijuana distribution center on the site of a Giant Fitness gym on Route 73 in Mount Laurel has turned into a proposal for a car wash. 

The Mount Laurel Zoning Board on September 2 denied an application to open a medical marijuana dispensary in the building, which is near the Evesham border.

Just seven weeks after the denial, another developer on October 21 applied to the zoning board to open the car wash at 1315 Route 73. The Giant Fitness gym would be converted to the car wash, according to the application. The applicant is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval at the board’s December 2 meeting.

Developer Christopher S. Vernon, who lives in Allentown, Monmouth County, applied for the carwash through his firm, 1315 Route 73 LLC of Hamilton, Mercer County. The property is owned by Sam Balducci of Haddonfield-based Balducci Inc.

Site plans for the project, in an industrial zone, show a three-lane queue for waiting cars. Documentation with the application says the carwash line would not be permitted to overflow onto Route 73. Based on the plan, at least 70 cars could be accommodated by the queuing scheme.

The Valet Car Wash also would offer an indoor vacuum area with 13 spaces and an outdoor vacuum area with 38 spaces, according to the proposal. It would operate from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

*Article courtesy of 70 and 73

For more information about this Mount Laurel retail space or about any other Mount Laurel commercial properties for sale or lease, please contact the team at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker at 856-857-6300.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services related to this retail space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate also offers property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, warehouse properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail spaces and other Mount Laurel commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers. Please visit our websites for a full listing of Mount Laurel commercial properties for lease or sale through our Mount Laurel commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Longtime Mount Laurel Sunoco Station Could Face Wawa Competition Immediately Next Door

Wawa opened about 2½ miles away on Route 38, and a Royal Farms was built about a half-mile in the other direction on the busy route.

And now Wawa is proposing another outlet — as the Sunoco’s next-door neighbor, hemming in the station at the corner of Route 38 and Hartford Road. The Mount Laurel Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled to consider Wawa’s application on December 2.

The first that Wilson, owner of Stiles Sunoco, heard of the plan was an article on 70and73.com‘s news website, he said.

“It hurt when they (Wawa) opened on the other side of (Route) 295,” Wilson told 70and73.com in a telephone interview on Saturday. He said having Wawa abutting his station would “devastate” the service station, which first opened in the 1940s. Wilson took the business over from his father-in-law about 11 years ago.

The corner property is owned by Dallas-based gasoline giant Sunoco LP and leased by Wilson. He said his business, which has nine employees, would not be able to survive on revenue from service alone. He already has had to close another location at 721 South Church St. in Mount Laurel. His Route 38 station used to operate 24 hours a day, but increased competition forced him to cut the hours to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Wilson’s plight got immediate support from customers and area residents on community Facebook pages Saturday.

“They have been on that corner for years. It’s not right,” one woman said in a post on the Moorestown Facebook page. “There are other Wawa’s nearby and stations galore. Mount Laurel needs to protect the existing businesses in that area, not make it so they have to struggle to survive. Do the right thing Mount Laurel.” 

By mid-afternoon Saturday, a post of the 70and73.com story on the Mount Laurel Facebook page had drawn 166 comments, with many worried about the future of Stiles Sunoco. 

“I love me some Wawa, but I think we have enough. No matter what, I’ll…go to Stiles Sunoco. They’ve been a wonderful business in Mount Laurel for years,” one woman wrote on the Facebook page.

Another wrote: “Enough already, the Sunoco is owned by friends of mine. They already had to close one station. Small businesses need to thrive. It’s the heart of the community.”

“Sad that family has owned that gas station for over 50 years and they will be forced to sell or just have as a mechanic shop….I pray for you, Shawn,” another member of the Mount Laurel page wrote.

One poster shared insight into how municipal zoning and planning boards work. “There are a ton of comments in this thread about getting the Township to say no to Wawa building on this lot and that’s not the way things work,” he said, pointing out that if the developer can make a case for variances the board members’ hands are tied even if philosophically they are “completely against” the idea.

In the Wawa application, Laurel 38 Developers LLC seeks approval for variances for the 1.67-acre property at 3230 Route 38 and 205 Hartford Road.

If approved, the new, 4,736-square-foot Wawa would be less than a mile from a 500-unit housing development now under construction on 65 acres along Marne Highway and Hartford Road, the site of the former Monte Farm. A Taco Bell restaurant on the lot that held a former Beneficial Bank next to the proposed Wawa site on Route 38 was approved at a Planning Board meeting on March 12.

The Macro Equipment Co. building on Hartford Road would be demolished. Wawa would build on that lot and adjoining wooded vacant lots.

» MORE: The Wawa plan’s supporting documents.

William R. Long of Richard A. Alaimo Associates of Mount Holly, the consulting engineer for the zoning board, wrote in a June 22 letter to the board that the project needs several zoning variances from the board. Among the variances:

  • Retail food or fast food services are not permitted on the same lot or parcel as a motor vehicle service station.
  • The maximum building height is 20 feet and the developer proposes a 33-foot building.
  • Fifty-two parking spaces are required and the developer proposes 50.
  • Some lighting design waivers.

*Article courtesy of 70 and 73

For more information about this Mount Laurel retail space or about any other Mount Laurel commercial properties for sale or lease, please contact the team at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker at 856-857-6300.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Mount Laurel commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Mount Laurel commercial real estate listings and services related to this retail space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate also offers property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, warehouse properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail spaces and other Mount Laurel commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers. Please visit our websites for a full listing of Mount Laurel commercial properties for lease or sale through our Mount Laurel commercial real estate brokerage firm.