2nd Bucks Co. Wegmans Construction Details Emerge

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA —As staffing falls into place for Bucks County's second Wegmans supermarket, construction on the building is nearing completion.

Wegmans officials gave a status report on the project, saying the 88,000-square-foot store that is the centerpiece of the Prickett Preserve development is about 75 percent complete.

Patch had requested construction details from the company about the new Wegmans that will be located across the street from Shady Brook Farm.

Wegmans operates its only store in Bucks County in Warrington off Route 611.

"Construction is progressing well," said Marcie Rivera, who is coordinating public relations for the store. She added that once construction is finished, the store will be turned over to the store operations team for setup and training.

Set to open in early 2024, the store will employ more than 400 people with the majority of employees being new to the company and hired locally. A specific opening date has yet to be determined., Rivera said.

Wholsen Construction, a local contractor, is responsible for bidding and awarding all the work. At completion, more than 200 skilled tradespeople including electricians, plumbers, HVAC, refrigeration mechanics, carpenters, iron workers, and masons will have worked on the project, Rivera said.

She said that each store typically follows a 10-month build schedule before it is turned over to store operations.

The Lower Makefield Township store will have about 600 parking spaces, Rivera said. The developer on this project is responsible for constructing the parking lots as part of the partnership.

Rivera provided some details about how the building is constructed.

"We start with the shell of the building to get it fully enclosed and watertight. We then transition to the infrastructure inside the building," she said.

Underground plumbing is the first scope that is done, which supports the kitchen and cooler spaces. The process then allows Wegmans to pour the concrete floor slabs to start the overhead mechanical HVAC systems and kitchen exhaust, sprinkler, lights, etc., Rivera said.

The kitchen is the first part of the store constructed due to the complexity of the systems that support the foods department, she said.

"We start this phase of the store first to ensure we can get it completed, tested, signed off, and operational prior to turning over the store to our operations team so they can begin training," Rivera stated.

She said the change typically happens about two months before the store opens.

In business since 1916, Wegmans operates 109 stores in seven states and has more than 53,000 employees chainwide.

Prickett Preserve includes nine multi-family buildings containing 200 apartment units plus a clubhouse with a pool, and seven commercial buildings totaling 52,000 square feet.

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill will be opening its first Bucks County location there as well.

Meanwhile, an existing historic farmhouse and barn on the property will be preserved and repurposed.

Plans were approved for the project by DeLuca Homes in April 2021.