SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP — Cole slaw sandwiches may be coming to Springfield Township.

Primanti Brothers sandwich shop – which is famous for its signature cole slaw, fries and meat sandwiches at locations in Pittsburgh – is in the process of opening a shop in Springfield’s commercial district in the Village of London.

“They have been a very good group to work with, a very financially stable group,” said Lee Ligo, an architect from Slippery Rock who spoke to Springfield planners on Monday.

Ligo made an agreement with Primanti Brothers to sell his property, which sits on Route 208 between the Interstate 79 south exit and Eat ’n Park, two months ago, he said.

Ligo purchased the parcel, which is over an acre, two years ago.

“I always thought it was the most valuable property” in the busy district, he said. “It’s location, location, location.”

But before it can be considered a location for Primanti Brothers, the township requires Ligo to have at least 15 items taken care of, said Barb Brown, township administrator and zoning officer.

However, Ligo’s conceptual plan, which he presented on Monday, brought up concerns with her and the planners.

Some items needing addressed included a fire lane, landscaping plan, lighting plan, traffic study, stormwater plan and parking plan. Concerns about traffic flow were also mentioned by Brown and the planners.

Ligo said all those items are being addressed. He hopes to have a final approval by December to seal the plan with Primanti Brothers – but with the pending items, Brown isn’t certain that is possible.

“I’ve never seen it done (that quickly) before,” she said.

Ligo said preliminary approval by the planners, who meet monthly before Springfield supervisors – who make final approval on development plans – would suffice by December.

His lot has two buildings, including one that housed a former garage and Subway shop. The other was formerly a sporting goods store.

In the former, Enterprise Rent-a-Car has set up business in the past year.

Enterprise’s 15-year lease agreement will transfer to Primanti Brothers, Ligo said. Primanti Brothers has also agreed to enter into a lease with Ligo, who wants to set up a business in the same building as Enterprise: “like a rent-an-office for people to meet and talk,” he said.

An addition to that building, which formerly housed Subway, will be razed, Ligo noted. Only the original garage will be left.

“They’ll pretty it up,” he said.

The former sporting goods building – which sits empty – will house Primanti Brothers, Ligo added. The plans include renovations and additions to make it larger.

Before purchasing the property, the state Department of Environmental Protection retained $350,000 in federal Superfund money to clean up the former gas station/garage of hazardous spills, Ligo said.

“It’s the squeakiest clean lot in 50 miles.”

In other business:

Walmart and the Mercer County Citizens for Responsible Development went head-to-head before Commonwealth Court in Pittsburgh on Oct. 13.

The MCCRD has filed appeals to stop the Walmart development. Members have argued that the township showed favoritism to Walmart by allowing a change in zoning to accommodate the superstore.

Although the MCCRD has had some victories – which have held up development for five years – the group was struck down in county court in the spring.

Brown stated on Monday that two of three Commonwealth judges questioned the MCCRD appeal in court this month.

One of the MCCRD’s arguments in the zoning change for Walmart is that the same consideration wasn’t given to other businesses surrounding the proposed superstore off of Route 208, namely The Boot Box and BP.

However, both of those business owners have never been a part of the MCCRD appeal.

“You’re here to fight their fight?” Barb summed up the Commonwealth judges’ response to the matter to the planners on Monday.

In the meantime, Walmart has filed a motion in county court to quash the MCCRD’s appeal to Commonwealth court.

In a court record, Walmart argues that the MCCRD failed to submit a brief by June 29 to Commonwealth court of “relevant docket entries or any other pleadings” regarding its appeals.

Walmart will have to incur the costs of compiling that information for the court, the record added.

Failing to file the brief has held up Walmart and Springfield to participate in “the proper review of the issues at hand,” it noted.

Brown noted that Walmart continues to move forward with its development plans. It’s still working on a developers’ agreement with the township.

For the past two months, the township has approved conceptual and preliminary site plans for Wal-mart. Its engineer was expected to submit the final site plan on Monday, but Brown said the final plan is still in the works.