Plans Revealed For Former Sonic and Plant Depot Sites on Route 9

Plans are coming together to bring two new businesses to Route 9 in the Town of Wappinger.

Last year, we learned that two of the area's biggest eyesores would be demolished to make way for new projects on Route 9. The Town of Wappinger Planning Board has received proposals from two national chains to take over both the former Sonic restaurant and the huge, abandoned Plant Depot site.

Sonic has been closed for years, with many wondering if anything would ever happen to the broken-down building. The uniquely-shaped structure most likely made it difficult to find anyone else who wanted to move in. Because Sonic is a drive-in restaurant, the main building is incredibly small, with giant parking bays branching out from the center.

The former Sonic saw a brief moment of activity in 2019 when it was temporarily remodeled to resemble a 1970s McDonald's restaurant. The change was made to accommodate filming for the HBO miniseries, I Know This Much is True.

In October, we reported that Jiffy Lube had submitted a proposal to demolish the restaurant and replace it with a service station. That plan continues to move forward and a site plan has now been presented that shows just how the new business will look once constructed.

A blueprint shows the Jiffy Lube positioned parallel to Route 9 with a large parking lot out front. Four bays will allow the business to service multiple cars, rotating customers in and out of the parking lot throughout the day. The footprint of the business will be similar to that of the former Sonic.

Further down Route 9, a much larger abandoned piece of property has been sitting vacant for seven years. When Lou Paggiotta and his wife Lorraine decided it was time to retire, they announced that they would be closing the Plant Depot after 22 years. Since then, there have been several rumors about what would become of the property. Last year, developers floated the idea of erecting a U-Haul storage and moving business. That proposal never went anywhere, leaving residents to wonder just how long the property would remain empty.

A few months later, it was revealed that a new proposal was submitted to build an enormous CarMax Auto Superstore at the former Plant Depot location. Over a year later, that plan appears to be moving forward and more details have been revealed about the project.

Blueprints have been submitted to the town that shows the old structures on the site being replaced with a new sales area and service center. Instead of being parallel to Route 9, the new buildings will now line up with Smithtown Road, surrounded by hundreds of parking spaces.

The business sells used vehicles and usually holds an inventory of around 350 cars at any given time. Currently, there are 225 CarMax locations across the country. The nearest superstores are located in Albany and Waterbury, CT.

What do you think about these new businesses being planned for Route 9? Do they sound like good additions to the community or would you rather see something else move into these abandoned locations? You can let us know what you think by dropping us a text on our app.

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