Key Points
Newberry’s “gotta have a Wawa” has turned into “gonna have a Wawa” after the City Commission approved final plans for the city’s first site of the popular convenience store and gas station last month.
The 6,372-square-foot convenience store is set for a little over two acres of the Highland Park Planned Development across from the city’s new Publix and will feature 16 fueling stations.
Newberry’s Wawa will be the seventh in Alachua County, with five locations in Gainesville and one in Alachua. Newberry Plaza, LLC, is the store’s owner and Bohler Engineering FL, LLC is the agent overseeing construction, which does not have a start date yet.
“We just approved WAWA!!” Commissioner Rick Coleman posted to Facebook.
The Newberry Wawa has been part of Highland Park’s plans all along. Officials broke ground on the 150,000-square-foot commercial development in June 2024. It will potentially feature other chains such as Culver’s, CVS, Starbuck’s and McDonald’s.
A new traffic signal will be added to the intersection of Newberry Road and Newberry Lane to accommodate the Wawa.
Editor’s note: This story was underwritten by a grant from the Rural Reporting Initiative at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida. To learn more or get involved, click here.
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What a shame! This small town is not growing in the right way. All the people that live next to this development are being pushed out, the new home that we’re built close to that area will now have to deal with this, and the community across the street are not happy they will have crap across from them. This is not good for the community and for homeowners. All the riffraff publix already brought in, everyone should expect more criminals walking this way, make sure everything’s locked up. Why would a city who has a horrible downtown build around it instead of investing in fixing what we have first, so the community can have a nice and welcoming place to go? Why would the city spend so much money building themselves a new office, shouldn’t community come first? And let think about this for a minute, why in this new building will there be safe space rooms, since when do we spend money on crap like that, if you need a moment go for a walk around the block, part of your job is not to sit in a room for an hour because you had a bad customer or just because you have a lot of work, it’s work that’s what you get paid to do. And why would a city allow another coffee shop to come into this area when we already have two, we should be supporting our small town businesses not bringing in Starbucks, which by the way are closing 100 plus stores and you want to allow them to open one here. Well to the former mayor, your secrets out, we all know you have been trying to add so much development from the Newberry sign to all the way to downtown, you didn’t care about taking farm land or ruining the area where people live, and the new mayor just picked up where he left off. They say we have the good old boys here, it’s too bad how much these men don’t understand the importance of community, first to build on what we have then to bring in what is good for us not the crap. Why are they building so much without concern for schools, all they care about is making sure they kick out the kids that may be struggling with the grades, don’t help them just kick them out because they want a 100 percent graduation rate, hmm if people think about this, schools don’t ever have 100 percent. So much corruption in this small town, it was never smart to have them try to turn school into charter schools. This has had been very sad for the people who loved being in a small town but not to far from the city, but now they are working to make this bigger then what is should be, without support we need for this growth, and not even building a nice shopping area, just bringing in another look alike freeway junk stop.
It’s time for a change. Get on the ship or get left!
AMEN!!
There is a difference between good and bad change for a small community. You can have growth without adding the crap stores and big box stores. The leaders here should had been wiser in decisions being made, should have heard the people and the wants, should have built on small town and supporting family owned businesses that are already here, most people here don’t want a big city feel, most of us left the big city for that reason. Like I said the leaders have not listened and have not realized what this will do to the established neighborhoods or to the infrastructure.
Goody-goody more development and groundwater contamination
We need positive in Newberry not negative. I am so glad for changes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All the !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! is positive? Walk it. Stop talkin it.
James, you just moved here I can tell. Talk it when you been here since 1974
wawa good, walmart bad says the commission. I’m starting to struggle with groceries. Cant budget enough to shop publix. But we’ll have a new government building and lots more overpriced houses to make me feel better.
Where is the job growth?
Goodbye quietness, hello high crime rate! Y’all know exactly what happens on Friday and Saturday nights in Gainesville. Now you are inviting it here!
I am disappointed with the MSDN title for this article. The word “scored” is usually used to imply achieving something good. I equate it with a different view. “Scoring a WAWA” is like “contracting herpes.” In both cases you go something new and for free, BUT LOOK WHAT YOU GOT.
Wawa’s great, but when will Newberry get its first dispensary?