Is Boone County on the verge of getting another Wawa? Well, a proposal for another convenience store in Boone County is now under review by the county’s planning commission.
On Wednesday, July 2, the Boone County Planning Commission held a public hearing for a development team wanting to open another Wawa within the county. Landowners The Deters Company, a Burlington-based fast-food franchisee, and Vuong Xuan Nguyen, based in Walton, are seeking to build a Wawa convenience store and gas station at 8450 US-42 in Florence.
To achieve this, they require the planning commission to approve a modification to the concept development plan for the site. The site is zoned as a Commercial Two/Planned Development District.
The 3.8-acre site is currently home to a Blue Pantry convenience store, Shell gas station, Snappy Tomato Pizza and Litas Tacos. The complex sits at the corner of US-42 and Hopeful Church Road, a busy intersection within Florence. Additionally, the property is near several suburban residential neighborhoods.
CESO Inc., a Miamisburg, Ohio-based developer who submitted the application for the concept development plan change, and the landowners want to demolish the existing gas station, convenience store and restaurant. In its place, the development team plans to build a 6,375-square-foot Wawa convenience store and gas station, which will include 10 fuel pump islands and a 7,100-square-foot fuel canopy.
Patrick Warnement, a real estate project engineer at Wawa, told the planning commission that they planned on expanding the complex’s parking footprint and preserving the vegetation on and around the site. Provided blueprints show Wawa has proposed to install 53 parking spaces.
“I think we’re basically replacing a like-use, so adding some parking to the north, obviously, and certainly glad to commit to trying to maintain as much vegetation as we can,” he said.
One concern of the planning commission, as well as a resident in the audience, was how the new Wawa would impact traffic. Warnement said Wawa conducted a traffic impact study that he would share with the commission.
Nearby homeowner Brenda Haynes shared concerns about the project, specifically about how the store would impact her neighborhood.
“I’m concerned about the peace and tranquility of my home residence with all the traffic in and out all night long,” she said. “And the other thing is possibly devaluing the property value. Having a parking lot in the backyard, it’s not exactly something that I would like to have, and especially the traffic, because it’s a convenience store.”
In response to Haynes’ concerns, Warnement said Wawa would commit to exploring landscaping and fencing solutions to mitigate impacts on neighboring residential properties.
“We don’t have that on the plan today, but we’re certainly happy to consider that if that helps alleviate some of the concern,” he said.
Planning Commission Chairman Charlie Rolfsen said the next step for Wawa is to attend a zone change committee meeting on July 16. After that, the application will be presented to the entire planning commission for a vote on Aug. 6.
Currently, there are no Wawa convenience stores open within the county. However, the Chester Heights, Pennsylvania-based chain is aggressively expanding into the Greater Cincinnati region. Over the past two years, Wawa has announced plans to open multiple stores in Northern Kentucky, including in Hebron and Florence.
