Airport Way by the time the dust settles could be the undisputed Manteca corridor for gas stations, car washes, convenience stores, fast food-style restaurants, and hotels.
As such it would be a major transformation for the once rural road that up until 2008 only had one business — a gas station/car wash/convenience store at Yosemite Avenue — along it as it passes through Manteca’s city limits.
Between projects already approved and those under planning review, the Airport Way corridor between Atherton Drive and Lathrop Road could end up with:
*eight gas stations.
*six car washes.
*seven convenience stores.
*eight free-standing fast food and high turnover restaurants (excluding dining options in Stadium Retail Center and Sizzler).
*five hotels.
The latest development is also the first in northwest Manteca.
Two Guys Food & Fuel are seeking approval to develop the Airport Plaza project on the southeast corner of Airport Way and Lathrop Road.
It is envisioned for:
*16 fueling stations.
*a 2,500 square-foot drive-thru restaurant.
*two high turnover restaurant of 2,092 square feet and 1,908 square feet.
*a car wash.
*a 3,400-square-foot convenience store.
*5,339 square feet of retail space between two buildings.
The proponents want to break ground in June and be completed by July 1, 2024.
The project will be built all at once, according to the environmental document for the endeavor.
Two Guys Food & Fuel earlier this year received approval for the Daniels Center project on the northwest corner of Airport Way and Daniels Street.
It includes 10 fuel dispensers to handle 20 vehicles at a time, a 3,400-square-foot convenience store, a 2,300-square-foot fast food restaurant, and a car wash.
It is being built on one of the heaviest trafficked intersections In Manteca.
It is the main access point to Great Wolf Lodge, Costco, the Stadium Retail Center anchored by Kohl’s, the Big League Dreams sports complex, and the fledgling 100-acre family entertainment zone that will soon see the ground breaking of the Loma Brewing Company on the corner of Daniels and Milo Candini Drive.
It is just down the street and across the street from the Rotten Robbie’s project approved on the southeast corner of Airport Way and Wawona Street.
That project includes a 4,800-square-foot convenience store with 16 fueling pumps.
Manteca will soon have a second Chick-fil-A location as well as the third Dutch Bros. that is part of The Crossing retail project approved in May.
The 15.4-acre project is on the northwest corner of Atherton Drive and Airport Way previously cleared the environmental impact hurdle.
The 4,781-square-foot-Chick-Fil-A will back up against the eastbound off-ramp and will have two drive-thru lanes.
The location almost guarantees the drive-thru queue won’t create problems on Atherton Drive and Airport Way as Manteca’s existing Chick-fil-A has done on Northwoods Avenue and East Yosemite Avenue.
The fast food restaurant will have inside seating for 90 people.
The 958-square-foot Dutch Bros will also have two queue lanes.
It will be located to the southeast of the Chick-fil-A and adjacent to another site that is being marketed for a fast food venture.
The car wash being built has been identified as Quick Quack Car Wash.
The 3,596-square-foot facility that will be located on the northeast corner of Atherton Drive and Langum Way — the main entrance to the center.
A Maverik gas station with 14 fueling stations, 8 commercial fueling stations, and a 6,140-square-foot convenience store with 38 parking spaces is at the Atherton Drive/Airport Way corner of the project. It is the first aspect of the retail expected to break ground.
The Crossing also includes a 55,000-square-foot major tenant building developers indicated they are targeting a supermarket as the tenant.
There is another 47,200 square feet of additional retail and restaurants.
Just to the west of The Crossing, the city has approved a four-story Courtyard at Marriot that will feature 117 rooms.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@manteabulletin.com
