Wawa planning store along busy 146th Street corridor in Noblesville

Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain Wawa plans to continue its expansion into central Indiana with a store at the southwest corner of East 146th Street and Howe Road in Noblesville.

Carmel-based JDF Development is planning an $8 million to $10 million project to build a Wawa Fuel Center and a 10,000-square-foot office building on 4.45 acres at the Howe Campus Corner Planned Development.

The Wawa store and fuel pumps would be built on the eastern two-thirds of the property, while the office building would be on the west side.

JDF Development introduced plans last month to the Noblesville City Council. The Noblesville Plan Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the development May 20, and the plan could return to the City Council in June for final approval. Construction could begin this summer if the project is approved.

Wawa previously received approval for a store in Noblesville in the Midland Pointe development at the southeast corner of State Road 32 and Hazel Dell Parkway.

JDF Development President Joe Farr told members of the Noblesville City Council that his firm also has land under contract for a third Wawa in Noblesville at East 191st Street and State Road 37. A proposal for that location has not yet been introduced to the council.

The location of the development at the southwest corner of East 146th Street and Howe Road is in Noblesville, while the neighboring Woodbury neighborhood directly to the west is in Fishers.

Mark Leach, a land-use professional with the Indianapolis office Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, said the development received unanimous support from the Woodbury Homeowners Association board.

Leach said JDF met with Fishers planning and engineering representatives due to the project’s proximity to that city.

“There are zero convenience stores offering gas located on the south side of 146th Street for the benefit of eastbound traffic between State Road 37 and I-69,” Leach told city councilors.

Wawa has more than 1,000 locations across six states and Washington, D.C. The retail convenience stores offer built-to-order food such as hoagies and breakfast sandwiches, beverages, coffee drinks, and, in a majority of locations, gasoline.

In 2022, Wawa announced plans to expand into Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. And last year, the company said it planned to invest $420 million to add 60 stores throughout Indiana over the next eight to 10 years, primarily in central Indiana.

Wawa plans to break ground on its first store in Indiana on June 6 at 3835 E. 96th St. in Indianapolis.

The company will also build a location at the northeast corner of State Road 32 and Spring Mill Road in Westfield.

JDF Development’s other recent projects include the The Avenue at Delaware Park at 106th Street and Lantern Road in Fishers and The Avenue at Promise Pass at 146th and Promise Road in Noblesville.