What was once a Rite Aid pharmacy in Falls Township is proposed to be converted to a car wash.
The Falls Township Planning Commission voted last week to recommend conditional use approval for the project to repurpose the empty retail building located behind the Wawa convenience store and gas station at West Trenton Avenue and Pine Grove Road.
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The 3.155-acre site sits in the township’s Highway Commercial District on a three-lot subdivision, which also contains a now-closed Wawa drive-thru concept.
The Rite Aid shut its doors in 2024 as the retailer navigated financial troubles.
The car wash developer, Flagship Pennsylvania Op Co., plans to renovate the existing structure rather than build a new facility.
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“There’s going to be some interior renovations mostly,” attorney Julie Von Spreckelsen, who was representing the developer, told the planning commission. “There will be some site development.”
If approved, the car wash would operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, with the potential to close earlier during rainy weather or winter months.
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The proposed facility offers three service options: a standard exterior tunnel wash where drivers stay inside their vehicles, a self-service vacuum zone featuring 13 spaces, and an indoor dry belt service. For the dry belt service, customers pull inside, step out of their vehicle, and wait in an interior area while staff clean the car’s interior using a conveyor belt system.
Kestra Kelly, an engineer with BL Companies, explained that drivers would pay at one of three pay stations before entering the wash tunnel. One lane would be reserved for monthly members using a card reader, and an attendant would be stationed at the pay area at all times.
“There’s no reason for a customer to park their car and go into the building,” Kelly said, noting that customer parking is unnecessary for the drive-through model.
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The site plan features 11 spaces for staff and one accessible space near the vacuum section.
The project has already received several variances from the Falls Township Zoning Hearing Board. Some of the granted relief includes allowing a 179-foot stacking lane holding seven vehicles instead of the required 200 feet for 10 vehicles, as well as allowing each of the three entrance access lanes to hold seven vehicles rather than 12.
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Zoning officials also granted approval to place the tunnel entrance at the front of the building instead of the rear, set accessory structures, including vacuums and a mat cleaner, in the front yard, permit outdoor vacuuming and payment, and skip the requirement for a loading area.
As a condition of the zoning, the developer must install a 6- to 8-foot-high sound barrier along Pine Grove Road to buffer neighboring properties from vacuum noise.
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Addressing public questions regarding detergent runoff and water quality, Kelly said all wash water is captured indoors, processed through reclamation tanks and an oil-water separator, and routed directly to the sanitary sewer system. No detergent-tainted water enters the storm sewers, car wash representatives said.
“Everything that is used is biodegradable,” Kelly said. “Honestly, the worst thing is the salt that’s on the road, which we can’t control.”
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The project must still secure conditional use authorization from the Falls Township Board of Supervisors and navigate the land development review process.
