Jim Walsh | Cherry Hill Courier-Post

Jim Walsh, @jimwalsh_cp

VOORHEES – Wawa has proposed demolishing a long-time store here to make way for a larger market and fueling station.

The convenience store chain is seeking township approval for the project at White Horse and Burnt Mill roads.

The proposed project also would occupy several vacant lots, adjacent to the current store, that are bound by Chestnut Avenue and South 2nd Street, according to records provided to the township.

"We are very early in the process and are not able to provide any details at this time," Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce said Monday.

Wawa sought approval for a similar project at the roughly three-acre site in 2006, but was rebuffed by the township's planning board due to traffic concerns in the Kirkwood neighborhood.

The Pennsylvania-based company will seek multiple variances from the township zoning board, including permission to operate a gas station next to its 24-hour store and to exceed size restrictions on signs.

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It also will request preliminary and final major site plan approval at the Feb. 13 meeting, according to a legal ad.

Jim Walsh, Courier-Post

The existing store, which has stood at the intersection for decades, is about 3,000 square feet in size.

The company is following a similar strategy in Franklin Township, where the zoning board in December approved a plan to replace an older Wawa with a larger store and a fueling station.

Jim Walsh, Courier-Post

That outlet is to rise on Delsea Drive south of Coles Mill Road in the Franklinville area.

Separately, the firm has announced plans to close a Woodbury Heights store on March 3 for remodeling.

The store, on the 800 block of Mantua Pike, is expected to reopen April 3, according to the company's website.

Wawa, which opened its first market in 1964, currently operates more than 860 stores in seven states and the District of Columbia.

Jim Walsh is a free-range reporter who’s been roaming around South Jersey for decades. His interests include crime, the courts, economic development and being first with breaking news. Reach him at jwalsh@gannettnj.com or look for him in traffic.