WILDWOOD – A new Wawa is coming to town, and when it arrives, it will come dressed in doo-wop style. The Wawa will replace the Rite Aid at 3400 New Jersey Avenue and the pump-free Wawa at 3200 New Jersey.
The new store will have five gas pumps and a larger, 1.4-acre footprint with a 6,372-square-foot building.
The Rite Aid will be demolished to make room for it. The existing Wawa will cease operations to coincide with the opening of the new location, the timing of which is unknown.
Doo-wop elements were incorporated into the design at the request of city officials, according to a resolution passed by Wildwood’s Planning/Zoning Board of Adjustments at its March 10 meeting.
The nearby Rio Grande Avenue Wawa is famous for its massive doo-wop-style sign that resembles other space-age designs on the island. The new Wawa will receive a similar neon-style sign, custom design elements in mid-century “atomic” accents at the front and back, and a color scheme that evokes the feeling of Wildwood’s mid-century heyday.
Some design elements that appear custom to this new location at first glance are actually part of Wawa’s design language found at new locations across the country, especially those in new markets for the brand. A V-shaped structure mentioned in the March 10 resolution of approval can be seen at locations in Virginia and Ohio.
The new spot will bring gasoline to an area of town without any. At present, the only gas stations on Five Mile Island are near the bridge entrances into Wildwood and North Wildwood, with none in the miles-long stretch between.
The new Wawa will be larger than the old one by a considerable margin. The property will sit on 1.4 acres, with a 6,372-square-foot building. It will have more parking than the Rio Grande location, 56 spots in total, though some of those spaces are not included in the official tally.
Members of the Planning/Zoning Board had expressed concern about traffic flow onto New Jersey Avenue, the main thoroughfare across the island.
Paul D. Mutch, with Stonefield Engineering and Design, answered some of the concerns on behalf of Wawa. He said that the entry and exit points from the site do not allow left turns onto New Jersey Avenue. Entry and exit points from side streets – Oak and Schellenger avenues – will be far from the New Jersey Avenue intersection “for safety purposes and to improve the overall circulation of the site,” Mutch said.
Five residents spoke at the March 10 meeting with objections to the new Wawa. Dino Carbone, who owns a property at nearby Oak Avenue, was concerned about crime, property values, traffic and pollution he said would be associated with a new 24/7 gas station.
Three other nearby residents expressed similar concerns. One, Thomas Biesiada, worried about the environmental impacts of “chemicals found in the gasoline” at the new site.
Mutch said the new Wawa is designed to cause as little interference as possible with its neighborhood. A 6-foot fence will surround portions of the property. Extensive landscaping will be maintained, including 20- to 30-foot-tall northern white cedar trees that will serve as a privacy barrier. The flanking residential streets – Schellenger and Oak – will be buffered by 15 feet of greenery.
Mutch said that new lights at the Wawa will be “shielded” to prevent light spillage to neighboring properties. Two members of the Planning/Zoning Board voted against the plan but did not respond to requests for comment.
Officials could not be immediately reached on a construction timeline for the project.
Contact the reporter, Collin Hall, at chall@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 156.
