A car wash, housing & more: Commissioners eye plans for 4 Centre County projects

The Centre County Commissioners approved four nonbinding agreements Tuesday that should spur several new businesses and advance a housing development primarily around the Bellefonte area.

The formal nonbinding agreements, or memorandums of understanding (MOUs), were approved unanimously by the commissioners following presentations by County Planner Chris Schnure. The MOUs involve a car wash, a car dealership, the third and fourth phases of a housing development — all in Benner Township — and a meat market in Walker Township.

The MOUs are between the county, the township’s engineer and the projects’ developers. The county will ensure that the initial transaction reimbursements from the developers to the engineer are carried out correctly.

“It’s good to see this,” Commissioner Amber Concepcion said Tuesday. “People are continuing to invest in our community.”

The first land-development plan presented was for a 4,760-square-foot car wash located near the intersection of Amberleigh Lane and Benner Pike, directly in front of the recently built Candlewood Suites/Avid Hotel at 132 Amberleigh Lane.

The car wash will include three automatic washing bays and a utility room, along with three vacuum areas located at the south side of the lot and two stormwater management ponds.

Final land development plans for another Benner Pike project — a new 49,300-square-foot car dealership owned by Stuckey Automotive President Matt Stuckey — were also seen Tuesday. The dealership will be built on a parcel of land jointly owned by Stuckey and developer Bob Poole, directly across from Giant next to G.M. McCrossin Inc.

The parcel was subdivided into two lots in October 2025 — one to be developed by Stuckey and the other by Poole. According to Stuckey in January, his Ford dealership will be built on his side of the parcel, which will be moved a half-mile up the road from its current location at 2892 Benner Pike.

Stuckey will then use the current dealership as a collision center. Two commercial businesses and two fast-food restaurants are planned on Poole’s lot, although no official plans have yet been submitted for his lot.

“[Stuckey and Poole] are going to construct a shared street system called Fairlane Road, and the existing three-way traffic signal will become a four-way traffic signal,” Schnure said, referencing the traffic signal at the intersection of Benner Pike and the Paradise Plaza parking lot.

Elsewhere in Benner Township, the commissioners approved an MOU for the third and fourth phases of Harvest Meadows, a housing development located on 33.54 acres of land along Fillmore Road. It’s near the State College Regional Airport and “about 900 feet” from Fillmore Road’s intersection with Fox Hill Road, Schnure said.

A total of 150 lots will be built over the two phases, including 98 townhouse lots, 51 single-family residential lots and one open space lot. Corresponding infrastructure like public streets, public water, public sewer, sidewalks and stormwater management will also be built.

The lone non-Benner Township MOU is an expansion for Mark’s Custom Meats, which is located at 4101 Nittany Valley Drive, at the drive’s the intersection with Pike Road in Walker Township. The expansion would involve the construction of a new retail building.

The 8,920-square-foot retail building will be built beside Mark’s Custom Meats’ existing building and will include a drive-thru, a porch area and additional parking.

Since the commissioners were approving only the plans’ MOUs, no timelines for the four projects were shared. However, because each plan has already been approved at the municipal level, each project is cleared for construction. In other words, each business or owner can start construction once they’re ready.