Year-round fireworks store proposed at former Sheetz site near Lemont
A new fireworks store is planned for the former Sheetz site at the corner of Pike Street and East College Avenue in College Township.
A sketch plan for a 5,000 square foot retail-use building to house Jake’s Fireworks at 2000 E. College Ave. was submitted to College Township in November 2021 for review and formally presented during the March 15 planning commission meeting.
Mark Toretti, of PennTerra Engineering, presented the plan March 15 on behalf of his clients. The plan shows using a lot of the existing features of the site, he said. One of the main driving forces for this site, Toretti said, was the truck access.
“At some point in time, they will have large tractor-trailers servicing the site, and we wanted to make sure, you know, one is that they can get into the site and also how they can unload easily and get out,” Toretti said. Tractor-trailers can enter from Pike Street and exit onto East College Avenue.
The existing paved areas are also being utilized as much as possible, he said. The 20 parking spaces, for the most part, will be more than adequate, he said. But during busier times, like around the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve, higher volumes of sales are anticipated and there could be some overflow parking. Bike parking is also included in the plan.
Jake’s Fireworks is based out of Kansas with stores in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Oklahoma. Though there is a warehouse in Pennsylvania, this would be the first store in the state, according to the website’s store location list.
The College Township Planning Commission recommended the township council approve the plan with some contingencies, including relocating a dumpster and removing white lines from a yellow cross-hatched area. The next township council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 7.
