Alexandria residents eager for their first Wawa will have to wait a little longer—construction has been pushed to 2026 due to groundwater remediation requirements.
Alexandria City Administrator David Plummer said during the Sept. 18 city council meeting that Wawa, slated for the Southwest corner of Main Street and US 27 in the city, won’t start construction until next year.
Plummer said Wawa’s corporate-wide capital expenditures for 2025 had run out. The Alexandria location did not make the deadline to build this year because they are dealing with groundwater issues.
Plummer first discussed groundwater issues at the Wawa site during the city’s Aug. 21 meeting. Plummer said he had seen rumors online about Wawa not going to build, which he said was completely false.
The site used to be a fly ash (a fine, powdery byproduct from the combustion of coal) site. Plummer said years ago, people would take fly ash and dump it on sites to try to build it up to sell for residential or commercial purposes. It was only after the fact that Plummer said developers found the material to be a headache to deal with.
For Wawa to implement the underground storage tanks for its gasoline, it must drain all the groundwater on site.
“In order to do that, they have to filter the water from all of the heavy metals that they will be collecting or displacing, and they need approval from Sanitation District No. 1 to do that,” he said. “They are currently working on those approvals.”
Wawa originated in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is primarily located along the East Coast and in Florida. It sets itself apart from other gas stations by offering freshly prepared-to-order food. It is also employee—and family-owned, so they do not have any franchise locations.
“We really try to become a staple in the community,” said Wawa Regional Real Estate Manager Lisa Corpus at the Aug. 7, 2024, planning meeting. “All of your local people here to staff our store, they’ll become employee-owners and have employee retirement and a good career for them for the future. So, it’s kind of what sets us apart.”
The location will have 50 regular parking spaces, three ADA spaces and one truck/oversized vehicle parking space. Some parking spaces will also have electric vehicle charging stations. There will be 10 gas pumps on site, and the store will be open 24/7. The store will have roughly 40 employees, with 13-15 at the location during peak hours.
Read more about the Alexandria Wawa plans here.
