Published: November 25, 2009 10:08 pm      

Sheetz opens doors in Windber's historic district

WINDBER — Standing under the awning of the new Sheetz store’s outside eating area, Windber residents Mark Moore and Mike Kuchinko sipped coffee while looking out at the Graham Avenue business district.

“It’s a nice store,” Moore said. “Of course, everything is nice when it’s new.”

“It’s a lot better,” Kuchinko said. “They tore down a lot of crappy buildings to make this.”

Despite controversy surrounding the convenience store’s location in the borough’s historic district, Windber residents were ready for the expanded offerings and easier access at the new location, manager Ken Wadsworth said.

“We had people waiting to come into the store when we opened at 8 a.m.,” Wadsworth said Wednesday. “They wanted a new store.”

Located at the foot of 15th Street near the Arcadia Theatre and Windber Coal Heritage Museum, the new Sheetz offers twice as many gasoline pumps and more convenient access, he said.

Inside, the store has about twice the space, with expanded offerings in ready-to-go sandwiches, a coffee-fixing station and a self-service lottery machine.

Developer R. Michael Boland’s proposal to build a Sheetz in the heart of Windber’s historic downtown drew protests as soon as the plan came up in late 2007.

After more than a year of wrangling and litigation, Windber Borough Council on April 1 approved an agreement that ended a lawsuit against the borough for denying the development.

Council members had argued that the store would interfere with the historic nature of the central business district and create traffic and pedestrian safety concerns. But supporters countered that the buildings being razed were mostly vacant and in poor condition.

Sheetz and Boland made numerous concessions to the borough, including upgrades to the intersection and design features to better fit the neighborhood.