Monday Update: Developer eying late 2023 opening for Shoppes at South Abington
Aug. 29—Two years after developer Ankim Shah began site work at the Shoppes at South Abington, construction on the commercial properties could begin soon.
"We're getting all the site work done and we anticipate going vertical with the buildings in late fall, early winter and spring," said Shah, CEO of Falcon Partners LLC of New Jersey.
Shah remains hopeful the center at 1101 Northern Blvd. in South Abington Twp. will be fully operational by fall 2023.
A site plan from Bennett Williams Commercial shows European Wax Center, Jersey Mike's, Sheetz, Starbucks and Wendy's plan to lease space at the new site. The plans also show two proposed medical users and one proposed auto user, with one space still available.
South Abington Twp. Manager David O'Neill said he also heard medical facilities are planned for the site and that the new center will be a positive addition to the Abingtons.
"It will provide a better tax base from the buildings other than the empty land," he said.
Sheetz plans to relocate from its 1109 Northern Blvd. location, O'Neill said. A Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant opened in the spot of a former Wendy's restaurant at 1135 Northern Blvd. in June.
Shah noted the project hit several snags along the way, including contractors being sidelined by restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We hit rock so we had to reengineer some plans," he said. "We had some delays in the overall site work process and obviously COVID slowed us down."
Demolition of the former Nichols Village property also stalled in 2020, after a contractor pulled out of the project.
Shah said all highway occupancy permit approvals have been completed through PennDOT and all county and state approvals have also been obtained.
The Shoppes will share a traffic light with Weis Markets, located across the street, he said.
"We're currently finishing up stormwater and site work," Shah said. "We'll begin curbing and pouring foundations in the next 30 to 60 days and then we'll begin the traffic light work. We're trying to get that all wrapped up by early spring so we can get everybody into their space."
Shah said the completed project will provide an economic boost to the region.
"We're looking at probably an extra 200-plus jobs being created by the center with somewhere between nine to 12 new retailers," he said.
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