Why Should Delaware Care?
The Sussex County Council is divided on the proposed Atlantic Fields commercial development, weighing the need for big-box stores with concerns about Route 24 traffic. A new plan for a similar development on Route 1 may shift that debate.
A new competitor has entered the race to build shopping destinations in booming eastern Sussex County. And the winner may become the host to a long-desired Costco store.
Local developers Joel Sens and Chris Kalil plan to build a mixed-use development near Milton at the intersection of Routes 1 and 16.
It would have almost as much retail space as Atlantic Fields, the controversial commercial development planned along the often-congested Route 24, near Rehoboth Beach.
And the Milton development, dubbed Ocean One, could face an easier path to approval than Atlantic Fields because existing road infrastructure could better handle shopping center traffic.
The planned development also includes affordable housing, an enticing detail for county planners who face pressure to lower housing costs near the Delaware beaches.
“I understand people are tired of development, but if you were ever going to have commercial development, it would be at the site of Ocean One. It checks all the boxes,” Sens told Spotlight Delaware.
Ocean One would have 500,000 square feet of retail space, making it just less than half the size of Christiana Mall. It would also have 280 smaller homes, such as duplexes and townhomes, and a grocery store “like a Giant, Weis or Redners,” Sens said.
“I can tell you it won’t be a Wegmans. The market is too small,” he said.
The development may also include some kind of entertainment venue and a hotel, but Sens said he is not sure what yet. He said interested real estate agents are currently finishing an intensive market study, so he will know more about the commercial offerings “relatively soon.”
Finally, Sens said his development will be a better spot for a Costco than the Atlantic Fields development 10 miles south. Many residents who expressed support for Atlantic Fields last fall cited the planned Costco store, which would be the first in Southern Delaware, as its draw.
“It’s an easy place to pick up provisions, as opposed to driving further into Rehoboth and trying to get on Route 24,” Sens said of his development’s Milton-area location. “Route 24 is already a disaster, right? I mean, this is just about common sense at this point.”
Southside Investment Partners, the development company behind Atlantic Fields, did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Sens said he recently reached out to Costco representatives about relocating, but does not anticipate a response unless the Sussex County Council denies the Atlantic Fields rezoning request.
Still, he believes both developments can co-exist, saying Ocean One would get enough business even if Atlantic Fields is also built.
The plan for Atlantic Fields cannot move forward if the county council decides to deny its rezoning request. In an October hearing, council members delayed voting on the matter, after appearing divided over whether to approve it.
The council will likely vote on the matter at its next meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13.
Sussex County Council would also have to rezone Ocean One’s project site, but part of it is already zoned commercial.
Easier to support?
The plan for Ocean One appears to address two concerns that residents and county council members previously brought up as points against Atlantic Fields; insufficient road infrastructure and the lack of affordable housing.
At Atlantic Fields’ rezoning hearing last fall, members of land-use activist groups, Sussex Preservation Coalition and Route 24 Alliance, expressed concern about the traffic it would bring to an already congested roadway.
While DelDOT plans to widen Route 24, the project will be in preliminary stages through 2032, according to the state’s draft Capital Improvement Plan.
Southside Investment Partners President Ben Hoskins told Spotlight Delaware that if the zoning change is approved, he expects Atlantic Fields to open in 2028 — well before the road improvements would even begin construction.
Meanwhile, DelDOT is in the midst of completing a long-awaited overpass at Broadkill Road (Route 16), next to the proposed Ocean One site.
The site also does not have as many nearby homes, reducing the chance that resident groups would form in opposition to traffic it would bring.
Route 24 Alliance member Gary Vorsheim said he thinks Ocean One is a better site for a large commercial development because it would have less of an impact on traffic.
Sussex Preservation Coalition President Jill Hicks declined an interview request, saying her group has not yet formed an opinion on Ocean One.
At the Atlantic Fields hearing, Councilman Steve McCarron said he wished the project had affordable housing as part of the proposal, saying it would be “much easier to support.”
Sans said he plans to make some percentage of Ocean One’s housing income-restricted. He said he will meet with members of the county staff sometime this month to discuss the details.