Newly placed sign announces Wawa coming to area

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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — All signs point to a new Wawa coming to the former Kmart Plaza — now Union Center Plaza — owned by Union Center Realty LLC and Delaware Land Company LLC.

Well, one sign at least.

A new sign was placed along Route 309 announcing what the NEPA world was waiting for —“Wawa coming soon!”

Tom Zedolik, Wilkes-Barre Township Code Enforcement/Zoning Officer, on Thursday said he issued the permit to Wawa and construction is scheduled to begin on Monday.

“Yes, it will be a Wawa gas station/convenience store,” Zedolik said. “They hope to have it up and running by late October, early November.”

Zedolik said work will also begin soon on the construction of a Cloud 10 Car Wash located adjacent to the Wawa site.

And Zedolik said work has also begin to re-purpose the former Kmart to make way for an Aldi grocery store. Zedolik said Aldi will be located in the space to the far right of the former Kmart and the main entrance to the grocery store will face Casey Avenue, not Route 309.

Zedolik said Union Center Realty LLC/Delaware Land Company LLC will use part of the former Kmart for storage. A third space in the building will be leased, but Zedolik said a tenant has not yet been secured.

Zedolik said Champion Builders is doing the work on the building.

Playa Bowls to open Saturday

In other township news, Zedolik said Playa Bowls will open on Saturday, May 4, next to Duck Donuts on Mundy Street.

He said Ambition Gym has opened on Route 309, across from the Union Center Plaza, and Trulieve, a medical marijuana business, is also expected to open nearby.

Last week, the site has been cleared for a new Turkey Hill to be built at the intersection of Blackman Street and Route 309, but it’s not clear when or if the project will go forward.

Zedolik said several buildings on the site were taken down after it was learned that homeless people had set up camp inside them.

In 2020, Turkey Hill’s new parent company, United Kingdom-based E.G. Group, purchased several existing buildings on Route 309 and Blackman Street, which once housed a repair garage, a bar and other businesses — along with three private homes — and the plan was to demolish them all.

Emily Pickering, vice president of public relations for The Castle Group, issued a statement on behalf of EG America:

“As part of our development plan for the property, we have begun to demolish some of the existing buildings on this site. At this time, we have no additional updates to share, nor a timeline for when construction will begin on the new Turkey Hill store.”