A popular convenience store may be coming to Gainesville to fill your tank – and your stomach.
Wawa, a convenience store chain which sells gas, made to order sandwiches and other food items, proposed building a location on the corner of Southeast 10th Street and East University Avenue, said Jason Simmons, a Gainesville city planner.
The location, which would be built at 1021 E. University Ave., would have six gas pumps with 12 pumping spots and a convenience store that would be about 6,000 square feet, Simmons said. They began the official planning on Dec. 19, 2017.
Simmons said the proposal is in its first review cycle with the city planning division. He doesn’t know when the location will open.
“What they proposed isn’t quite what the land code calls for in that area,” Simmons said.
Wawa would have to make expensive changes to its plan, like bringing the structure closer to the street and moving parking spaces to the back and side of the building, to eventually have the plan approved, he said.
Wawa did not respond for comment. The closest location currently is in Orange Park near Jacksonville.
Megan Zimmerman, a UF biology senior, said she’s a fan of Wawa stores and described them as “an upscale gas station.” She said bringing one to Gainesville is a great idea.
“It’s fast, it’s easy and I feel like a lot of college students would benefit from that,” the 22-year-old said.
Contact Robert Lewis at rlewis@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @Lewis__Robert.
A photo of a Wawa.
