Buildings cleared from corner of Cave Neck Road and Route 1

The redevelopment of a parcel of land on the corner of Route 1 and Cave Neck Road outside Milton continued this past week with the demolition of multiple barns associated with an old agricultural complex on the site.

This is the second phase of clearing this highly visible corner lot. A few months ago, two businesses that had rented the property for more than a decade – Smokin D’z BBQ and Shed Crazy – moved because site work was about to begin.

The buildings were razed and the businesses moved to make way for a development project called Chappell Farm. The plan includes 128 apartment units in four 15,040-square-foot buildings and 23,790 feet of commercial space with a service road, amenities, parking and stormwater management facilities along Route 1 and Cave Neck Road. Removal of the buildings has been part of the plan from the beginning.

First approved in June 2021, a conditional use for the multifamily component of the project was set to expire this past June because county code says work must be started within three years or the conditional use is no longer valid. County code also allows for one six-month extension, which was granted. That extension expired late last year.

The development also includes the formerly treed lot immediately abutting the corner lot where the farm structures and businesses were located. Site work on that lot also began this past fall.

A two-person crew – one operating a large excavator, the other operating a small excavator – went to work demolishing the buildings Jan. 13. By the end of the first day, an animal pen, produce stand and storage barn were gone.

The next day, Jan. 14, the workers moved to the barn closest to Route 1.

The guy operating the larger excavator took a short break the second day. He said he wasn’t sure how old the barn closest to Route 1 was, but that it was held together by mortise and tenon joints. It’s definitely older than the larger barn, because that one was held together with screws, he said.

“It hurts my heart to take it down,” said the excavator operator. Break over, he shrugged in a way that suggested it wasn’t the first old barn he’s removed and went back to work.

The third day was spent cleaning up the old barn and then removing the large barn that features the cinder block base.

By the deadline of the Jan. 17 edition of the Cape Gazette, the only structure remaining was the old farmhouse.

It appears the removal of the barns is more of a visual reminder of continued growth in the Cape Region, not the demolishing of historically significant buildings.

In March 2021, Delaware Department of Transportation’s Division of Cultural Resources conducted an on-site survey of the property in advance of significant road improvements to the intersection of Route 1 and Cave Neck Road. The report says the two-story house was built around the 1910s. There were also a dairy barn, a milk house, a ground barn, a corn crib and an equipment shed.

The property is an example of a late 19th and early 20th century agricultural complex with multiple agriculture-associated structures that have been constructed throughout the years, reads the report written by Maureen McCoy and Alexandra Tarantino.

“Overall, the structures on the property do not represent exceptional examples of any architectural style, are not the work of a master, and do not possess high artistic value,” said the report.