Almost a year ago a new Super Wawa was approved by Oaklyn NJ to be developed on the White Horse Pike, at the site of the (now closed) Burns Auto Dealership. While we didn’t post on it at the approval time, there has been activity at the property over the last year or so, and recently I saw some questions online about it so thought I’d catch readers up.
While the Burns Auto property is the core of the project site, three homes behind the Burns Auto property would also be demolished and removed if the project moved forward, and utilized as part of the main Wawa development property.
The location of this project requires approval from several government entities.
In 2021, the Camden County Planning board also reviewed the project, as the original property includes an access road to Newton Ave, and Wawa will also utilize the County stormwater drainage system. I do not know the status of that.
I believe approval is needed from NJDOT for access from the White Horse Pike (US 30).
And lastly there is some environmental clean-up that has to be finished and approved, related to years of being an auto business. This is the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
As is the case with all new Wawa construction projects, we don’t have timing for this project. It seems one new Wawa project can take 6 months to be developed while another can take 6 years. There are a ton of factors impacting the development time for each location.
We searched online property records don’t see any indications the property changed ownership recently.
Yes there is a Wawa two blocks away across from the Ritz Theater. This new location will allow them to sell gasoline, which is a core business facet. Unfortunately that old Wawa would probably close after this one opened.
Super Wawa Oaklyn
As expected this will be a full Wawa convenience store with gas pumps, with the two components placed side-by-side.
The property address is 1006 White Horse Pike Oaklyn, and is a block over from where Cuthbert Boulevard intersects the White Horse Pike. TD Bank is a block over from this upcoming Wawa, and two blocks away is the beautifully expanded Mulligan’s Bar & Grill.
Facing the front of the property, the store will sit on the left side (West Cedar Ave to the side) and the gas pumps will be on the right (West Park Ave to the side).
Specific to the homes being demolished, on West Park there would be 2 homes removed, and on W Cedar, one home would be removed.
The core of the activity taking place at the property up to this point seems to be environmental cleanup. In the area of the auto garage bay entrances a portion of the soil (and asphalt) was removed, presumably for proper disposal. (Our last visit was late December).
This property has been selling and repairing cars for over 80 years, so it would be expected that there is some portion of ground cleanup needed. The NJDEP does list the property on it’s list of properties needing clean-up. That list includes THOUSANDS of locations.
It’s possible there were underground tanks there, but we aren’t clear. The good news is, it’s all being properly taken care of!
The site plan that we located shows this to be a 5,051 square foot Wawa, in a traditional style. This will not have a drive-thru (I think the 2 they built were just an experiment, but I get asked every time one goes up!)T
There will be 50 parking spaces.
Access will be from the three main roads around the property; White Horse Pike on the front, and on the sides West Park and West Cedar.
I don’t see any indications of new traffic lights being added for the two side streets, but there are existing lights basically a block further out in each direction at Cuthbert and Holly.
The main front entrance from the White Horse Pike will be enter/exit from the lane next to the building. Cars will not be allowed to turn left directly into the Wawa parking lot from White Horse Pike.
Interestingly the Burns property also includes a strip of land that extends through the block off the back of the main property, runs between the houses (which are along the side roads) and connects to Newton Ave. Burns had paved this section and stored cars there, but the Wawa site plans show that this Newton Ave throughway would NOT be used. The site plan shows the parking lot does not extend into that area.
Two air pumps are indicated to the back of the parking lot.
While it appears this new Wawa will not open with electric car charging stations, the site plan does highlight a small area for the future addition of charging stations.
Because the gas pumps will be located to the side, it seems the convenience store building will have an extra door on the side, facing the pumps. Main door front, smaller exit and delivery door in the back, and the side door.
The gas pump area will have the traditional overhead canopy, and it appears they will have 6 two-sided pumps.
The underground gas tanks will be positioned to the front corner of the property (W Park Ave).
A New Life, But Still Catering to Cars
This property has been selling cars for over 80 years!
Most recently it was home to a Burns Auto location. Before that, it was Fleetway Chrysler in the 2000s, Classic Chrysler in the mid-90s…
… and for over 50 years starting in the 40s, the property was home to Johnny’s County Motors!
We see references to Johnny’s at this address starting around the late 40s. But Johnnys County Motors in Oaklyn references in newspapers starts in the mid-30s, but at 612 White Horse Pike… which if the number systems havent changed means they started out where Amato Bros is located today!
Links and Location
Wawa Convenience Store and Gas (Under development)
1006 White Horse Pike
Oaklyn, NJ 08107