Bristol Twp. Approves Plans For Long-Vacant Veterans Highway Property

A long-vacant commercial site that has been on the radar of local officials for years is slated for a major change after a vote last week by Bristol Township Council.

Council voted Thursday to approve preliminary and final land development plans for a 129,000-square-foot warehouse at 3113 Veterans Highway (Route 413).

The project, which is spearheaded by Herring Properties, covers a multi-parcel, nearly 10-acre site that once housed O’Connor Freightliner.

The development will require the demolition of the closed and boarded-up Stadium Bar and Grill, according to Michael Meginniss, the attorney representing the applicant.

“This property is very well known, perhaps unfortunately in the township,” Meginniss told the council, adding that the former Freightliner site has seen numerous development proposals over the years but no successes.

The building will likely house one or two tenants, with a preference for existing Bristol Township businesses that want to expand but remain in the community, Meginniss said.

“The way this property is set up would not facilitate a distribution use,” Meginniss said. “The market really doesn’t account anymore for distribution in 2026 the way it was in 2020 and 2021.”

Meginniss described Herring Properties’ projects as a “grade A high quality product that looks more like an office building than anything else.”

Herring Properties already operates the Bristol Commerce Center and is responsible for more than 1,000 jobs in the township through its commercial development.

Project engineer Jeff Skinner said the Veterans Highway facility will feature parking along the front and sides, while truck loading areas will be positioned in the back, away from the roadway.

As a way to manage stormwater runoff on the predominantly paved site, the project includes the installation of a swale system and three large detention basins.

The site plan proposes two driveways accessing Veterans Highway, which requires a PennDOT highway occupancy permit, alongside a 50-foot-wide access easement to Ford Road.

Council members raised concerns regarding truck traffic, which led to the developer to state they are collaborating with the township’s traffic consultant to address safety.

The council’s approval requires that the developer secure PennDOT permits and coordinate with the township’s traffic engineering consultant before construction can begin.

“I don’t have a problem moving forward with all these caveats already in play,” Council President Craig Bowen said.

According to Meginniss, the property is presently a site for illegal dumping, homeless encampments, and other issues.

The approval comes a string of failed concepts for the land.

In 2022, a New Jersey developer proposed a mixed-use project featuring a hotel, fast-food restaurant, automotive repair shop, and a mini-warehouse. Officials said those plans were withdrawn due to viability concerns.

Nearly a decade ago, the convenience store and gas station chain Royal Farms also looked at the site, but those plans fell through.

Bowen said requirements imposed by PennDOT ultimately ended the Royal Farms proposal.

The developer said the approved warehouse plan will return the blighted property to productive use.

“This is going to be a very good project and a heck of a lot better than the site’s been for a long time,” Meginniss said.