Benner Pike may get a new convenience store and gas station
New development is already happening on Benner Pike with Dunkin’ Donuts, but plans submitted to the county last week show a new convenience store wants to build there soon.
Rutter’s, a family-owned, York-based convenience store chain, is planning to build a location on the west side of Benner Pike at the intersection of Rishel Hill Road in Benner Township next to the Centre County Correctional Facility.
The plans include a 10,000-square-foot convenience store — almost double the size of 6,000-square-foot Sheetz up the road — with a sit down area and 14 vehicle gas pumps, said Centre County Planning Director Robert Jacobs.
There will also be five tractor-trailer diesel fueling stations, one weigh station and a larger parking area for tractor trailers.
At this point, the plans don’t show any indication of another franchise inside the Rutter’s, like a Subway, Jacobs said.
But the location will include standard convenience store fare and a deli serving sandwiches, burgers, salads and soups.
The county planning commission is set to review the plans at its Jan. 15 meeting. If “everything’s taken care of,” said Jacobs, the planning commission will give conditional final approval. Before Rutter’s can begin construction, the county will have to finalize permits and complete a traffic study of the area.
The plans don’t show an entrance to the store off of Benner Pike, but there may be entrances on Rishel Hill Road and Venture Drive, said Jacobs.
A tentative timeline involves starting construction in the summer of 2019 and continuing for six to eight months, according to the Centre County Gazette.
PennTerra Engineering is the consulting firm overseeing the Rutter’s project.
The convenience store chain started in 1968 as Rutter’s Farm Stores, but dropped down to Rutter’s earlier this year. There are 60 locations spread between West Virginia and Pennsylvania. If approved, this Rutter’s would be the first in Centre County.
Dunkin’ Donuts, which is being constructed on the land between the Bellefonte Lanes and Graystone Court Villas senior living community, is set to open “real soon,” said Jacobs. The planning office, he said, received documents from the developers the other day that indicate the Bellefonte location will be open in early January.