Wawa planned near downtown Sarasota

City of Sarasota: Meet Wawa.

Tampa-based Brightwork Real Estate is planning another Gulf Coast location of the wildly popular convenience store and gas station for an intersection near downtown Sarasota. If approved by the city, it could become the third Wawa in the county.

City staff will host a community workshop next week to consider plans for a 5,650-square-foot store on Fruitville Road between North East Avenue and Audubon Place. The Wawa would replace two duplexes and three single-family homes on roughly two acres with 16 fuel stations and more than 40 parking spaces, according to the workshop agenda.

The city’s planning board will have to approve a conditional use and several adjustments for the parcel, which is located within the Downtown Edge zoning district.

Brightwork bought two parcels at the corner of Myrtle Street and U.S. 301 this month for more than $1.6 million, with plans to develop a 6,119-square-foot Wawa.

Wawa plans to build 300 stores in Florida, including at least 80 on the Gulf Coast. Each store costs $6 million to build and employs about 40 people. 

The Fruitville Road property is adjacent to the land on which entrepreneur Harvey Vengroff is planning 400 affordable apartments.