Largo’s future Wawa drive-thru is for sale

Pennsylvania-based gas station and convenience store chain Wawa, known for its food service, is selling its planned drive-thru Florida store in Largo. The store will be backed by a corporate lease. 

William Wamble and Patrick Nutt, brokers at the SRS Real Estate Partners group, have listed the ground lease investment opportunity for the future Wawa store at 2530 East Bay Drive. 

The news of the Wawa thru-drive follows a recent development order (DO) from the City of Largo authorizing the redevelopment of the roughly one-acre property, which previously housed a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. 

The planned 2,016-square-foot stand-alone building is listed for $3.222 million. 

The building purchase is tied to a 10-year corporate Wawa lease, which includes six five-year extension options. 

The ground lease would start at $145,000 annually and increase by 7% every five years, according to SRS’ Loopnet listing and brochure. 

Rendering and elevations of the Wawa Largo drive-thru location. The store will have 14 parking spaces. 

East Bay Drive is a primary retail thoroughfare with surrounding national retailers and grocers such as Ross, Walmart Supercenter and Publix Super Markets. Over 60,000 vehicles are on the road per day. 

Wawa has over 950 locations, including existing stores in Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. 

When the first drive-thru prototype store opened in Pennsylvania in 2021, Wawa executives told media outlets the pandemic accelerated their plans to introduce the drive-thru concept to provide a contactless and quick shopping experience for customers. 

The chain later opened a second drive-thru store in Westampton, New Jersey. 

The drive-thru concept is part of Wawa’s overall plan to double its stores and traditional locations by 2030, according to reports.