Lewes BPW agrees to serve Tower Hill

The developer of the Tower Hill major subdivision on the Groome Church property along New Road will be served by the Lewes Board of Public Works. 

CMF Tower Hill LLC has also signed a pre-annexation agreement with the City of Lewes, meaning the property could be annexed into the city once it becomes contiguous with city limits. 

The 134-acre, 292-single-family-lot subdivision received approval of its final site plan and landscaping plan from Sussex County Planning & Zoning Aug. 27. Under Sussex County code, a developer must have construction substantially underway within five years from the time the site plan is officially recorded.

Lewes BPW will provide water and sewer to Tower Hill; electric will come from Delaware Electric Cooperative.

Anticipating expansion of water and sewer customers along the New Road corridor, BPW General Manager Darrin Gordon and the developer negotiated to increase the capacity of Tower Hill’s infrastructure. In addition to future development, Gordon said, BPW expects to extend service into Tradewinds Estates, which is directly across New Road from the Tower Hill site.

The Tower Hill developer will pay most of the cost of water and sewer infrastructure on site, but BPW will contribute a share to pay for the extra capacity. Homebuyers will also pay impact fees to BPW as part of their home purchase.

“This agreement helps break it out as fairly as possible,” Gordon said.

BPW will extend its water and sewer lines out to the Tower Hill site by laying lines under Canary Creek and along New Road. BPW also anticipates serving Lewes Waterfront Preserve, a townhouse community along Canary Creek that’s received preliminary approval from Lewes officials.

A benefit that will be realized by BPW from the agreement is a new water well on the Tower Hill site. Currently, all of the city’s wells are located just west of Cape Henlopen High School between Kings Highway and Savannah Road. BPW President Preston Lee said water treatment will also occur, so the water can be distributed directly from the new well site.

Although site work has not yet begun, builder K Hovnanian Homes is advertising Tower Hill as a luxury single-family home community on its website. No price ranges for homes are provided.