The former Manderbach Ford in Muhlenberg Township is being demolished and redeveloped, township officials confirmed.
The plan is to transform the site at 4450 and 4500 N. Fifth Street Highway into a Wawa and Mister Car Wash, according to Jim Bobeck, township manager.
Those plans were approved by the township commissioners in October 2024, Bobeck said.
The project calls for demolishing Manderbach Ford buildings that include the showroom and mechanics bays, while preserving a smaller building toward the rear of the property.
Bobeck said that Wawa will be on the right side of the the property and Mister Car Wash on the left, with a shared driveway running between them which can be used to access the smaller building in the rear.
The lot is to be subdivided, and the building that will remain has already been sold, Bobeck noted.
There are currently no plans for that building.
He said the township doesn’t yet have a timeline for demolition or construction, but earthwork at the site is expected to continue late into the year.
The former Manderbach Ford dealership at 4450 N. Fifth St. Highway in Muhlenberg Township has been demolished for construction of a Wawa and Mister Car Wash. (BILL UHRICH/MEDIANEWS GROUP)
The Manderbach Ford lot was bought by Newman Development Associates LLC. in November 2024, according to Berks County property records.
The New York-based developer was behind another project in Muhlenberg to renovate a 3-acre blighted property in the 4200 block of Fifth Street Highway into a retail center.
That center, completed in 2019, includes a Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread and Visions Credit Union. A MOD Pizza at the site has since closed.
Manderbach Ford completed a move to another location at Route 61, Grand Street and Front Street in Hamburg in 2018.
That location changed its name to Kinley Ford in January. However, Kinley Ford of Hamburg abruptly closed in mid-September. A message on the dealership’s main telephone line indicates the business is temporarily closed, and hopes “to reopen soon.”