Say Wawa…and Walmart market, Whole Foods

Two Wawa gas and convenience stores, a Whole Foods and a Walmart Neighborhood Market are coming online through county applications.

The former Winn Dixie site moved forward toward new life after the Manatee County Planning Commission approved the preliminary site plan for the 23-acre property located at the corner of Lockwood Ridge Road and State Road 70.

Developer Gryboski Howe & Gravley (GH&G) purchased the site for $6.5 million in January from Space Coast Credit Union.

The West Lake Plaza site plan includes eight buildings to be constructed. Both a Walmart Neighborhood Market and a Wawa gas station and convenience store are already slated to take up residence in two buildings, but no other tenants have been selected.

“(The site) has been an eyesore for a long time,” said Caleb Grimes, a GH&G representative. “We’re trying to come in and take something that’s been a problem and move forward.”

The developer is planning to budget for an additional right-turn lane on Lockwood Ridge, turning east onto State Road 70. The lane is not a requirement by the county.

“Overall, I have no problems with the project. I want to stress the importance that the traffic in that area is bad and will only get worse,” said Commissioner Tom Rhoades. “Without that additional lane, traffic turning right is going to be backed up for blocks, like it is already.”

Todd Mathes, director of development for Benderson Development, spoke up during public comment. Benderson owns the plaza, which includes a Publix, across the street from the proposed project.  He suggested the county should consider a traffic signal to allow a thoroughfare between the two plazas.

“We’re willing to share in the expense of that signal,” Mathes said. “There will be a lot of cross-shopping.”

Rhoades expressed concern with the idea of a signal, because the additional stop could back up traffic into the residential zones to the south of the project on Lockwood Ridge.

However, county staff is not recommending the installation of a signal for either plaza at this time.

The project will have to go before the Manatee County Board of Commissioners for final approval.

Another Wawa and a Whole Foods Market are slated for the corner of University Parkway and Honore Avenue.

As part of an 8.25-acre development, these two and other undetermined stores will join together as a project called University Station if approved.

SJ Collins Enterprises, a developer out of Fairburn, Georgia, submitted a rezone application to Sarasota County Planning and Development Services in June for the site.

The developer proposed to develop a retail center with a 40,148-square-foot Whole Foods, 10,411 square feet of other retail stores, and a Wawa convenience store with gas pumps.

“We are working with Wawa to create a master planned development with shared access,” said Jeff Garrison, an SJ Collins representative, in an email.

Two neighborhood workshops were held in March and April; another will be scheduled this summer, but no date has been set.

Garrison said the Whole Foods would tentatively open its doors in 2017. Although the other spaces do not have tenants yet, he said the developer would be looking at upscale local and national brands.

“The Whole Foods Market brand attracts many upscale shoppers,” he said.

University Station will have to pass through the Sarasota County Planning Commission and finally approved by the Board of Commissioners.