A rendering of the Super Wawa proposed on the Voorhees-Berlin line.
A developer of Wawas proposes to build a Super Wawa with 12 gasoline-fueling stations on 4.95 acres of land between Route 73 northbound and Cooper Road on the Voorhees-Berlin border.
NIKI-J&J Voorhees Cooper Partners LLC is listed as the developer in the application to the Voorhees Planning Board.
Evesham-based J&J Development Group, run by the father-son team of James Angeloni and Jeff Angeloni, is also the developer of several other Super Wawa stores in New Jersey, including one on Route 73 southbound near Kresson Road in Voorhees. That project, which was challenged by neighbors, was approved in 2022 and construction has yet to begin. NIKI is a San Diego-based commercial real estate investment company.
The new Super Wawa at the Voorhees-Berlin line would be built on two lots in Voorhees and two in Berlin. The Voorhees Planning Board is scheduled to hear the application at its meeting next Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Berlin Township Planning and Zoning Board was to consider the plan at its August meeting, but the applicant requested a postponement until the October 21 meeting.
NIKI-J&J seeks Voorhees preliminary and final major site plan approval with variances. The Super Wawa is a permitted use in the Major Business Zone, according to the developer.
A hardscaping/landscaping business, The Paver Doctor, on the site would be demolished, according to the site plans. On the Voorhees side, Voorhees Environmental Corp. and Artistic Developers Inc. each owns a lot, according to the application.
The yellow outline shows the two lots in Voorhees proposed for the Super Wawa and the orange outline the two lots in Berlin Township. The Super Wawa would be on the northbound side of Route 73.
Trees cover a large part of the Cooper Road end of the site and the developer's plans indicate most will not be removed. A long driveway goes through the wooded lots from Cooper Road to the back of the 5,915-square-foot Wawa, which faces Route 73. Fifty-five parking spaces are planned.
Variances sought from the Voorhees board include allowing a site of 2.92 acres, when three acres is the minimum. The balance of the acreage is in Berlin. A variance also is sought because 300 feet of lot frontage is required, but there are only 165.7 feet on Cooper Road.
Traffic into the site would increase significantly from current levels, according to a study conducted for the developer by Dolan & Dean Consulting Engineers Inc. of Somerville.Â
Morning peak-hour traffic would add 246 trips into the site, 205 trips in the evening peak hour and 189 in the Saturday peak hour, according to the study. The distribution of added traffic would be Route 73 South, 35%; Route 73 North, 8%; Cooper Road West, 16%; Cooper Road East, 16% and Lafayette Avenue West, 25%, the study projects.
Driveways are proposed on both Cooper Road and Route 73.Â
The development proposal eliminates left turns from southbound Route 73 to Terrace Boulevard to "accommodate the lengthening of the southbound Route 73 left-turn lane at the signalized intersection with Cooper Road," according to the application.
A residential property is on the site, but its future is unclear from the application.
"The existing residential dwelling in the rear will not be demolished or removed as part of this application," according to a letter to the board from the developer's lawyer, CherylLynn Walters of Nehmad Davis & Goldstein of Egg Harbor Township.
But the developer's stormwater management report, prepared by Stonefield Engineering Design LLC of Princeton, states: "A two-story house with a detached garage and shed are located on County Route 675 (Cooper Road). These structures will be removed entirely as part of the proposed redevelopment."Â Â
Wawa competitor 7-Eleven operates a convenience store less than 1,000 feet from the proposed Super Wawa on Route 73 northbound at the Cooper Road intersection.
