With the planned Sam's Club expected to open next summer in Gateway Hanover, the Penn Township shopping hub is a little closer to being fully occupied.

Penn Township's planning commission recently gave approval to the wholesale/retail store, and the proposal will now go before Penn Township commissioners during their next regular meeting on Monday, July 16, according to a township secretary.

If voted through, it would be the second Sam's Club in York County. Another location is at 2801 E. Market St. in Springettsbury Township.

Sam's Club sells bulk items at discounted prices to about 50 million members, according to the company website.

Upon approval in Penn Township, Sam's would be a large step closer to completing Gateway Hanover, a 456, 96-square-foot retail development that stretches across both York and Adams counties at the intersection of Eichelberger Street and Eisenhower Drive.

Built in 2010, the shopping hub already includes Five Below, PetSmart, Ross Dress for Less, Target and more.

If Sam's Club is added to the site, it will be at the opposite end of Gateway Hanover from Target, according to Ryan Myers, a leasing agent with Lancaster-based LMS Commercial Real Estate, which manages the property.

Plans include construction of a 136,367-square-foot Sam's store, a fuel station and nearly 600 parking spaces, he said.

Once completed, Gateway Hanover will be close to capacity, as Buffalo Wild Wings is also scheduled to open there this fall.

A few pad sites remain open along nearby Wilson Avenue and there's opportunity to add another 35,000 square feet of retail space there, "and that would fill phase one," Myers said.

Phase two is still embryonic, he said.

Traffic lights are installed along Wilson Avenue in anticipation of further development, but there are no immediate plans. Original plans called for having retailers on both sides of Wilson Avenue, but many of those plans diminished when the economy took a hit.

But there's still untapped additional land that surrounds Gateway Hanover.

"There's been some initial talks, but nothing has been approved," Myers said. "The land probably won't be developed for a few more years."

-- Candy Woodall can also be reached at cwoodall@yorkdispatch.com.