Lewes planners recommend approval of hotel site plan
The Lewes Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the preliminary site plan for the proposed Beach House of Lewes Hotel.
Commissioners attached conditions before voting Nov. 1, including changing the architecture to fit more of a Delaware coastal style.
They also want the owners to add more landscaping and canopy trees, environmentally friendly lighting and additional parking, with a parking lot made of pervious materials.
The vote also included the recommendation of two waiver requests: one to eliminate a loading space, the other for a reduction in the size of the corridor buffer on Savannah Road.
The commission held a public hearing for the preliminary site plan Oct. 18. At that session, commissioners received a detailed presentation on the project. Neighbors also spoke in favor of the project.
Owners Jim and Jana Owen plan to build a 16-room hotel, with a detached coffee house, on the property at 209 E. Savannah Road, the former location of the 2 Dips ice cream shop.
The hotel would be a little less than 10,000 square feet, while the coffee house is 862.5 square feet.
Jim Owen said the hotel will be designed for longer stays, with larger rooms, and washers and dryers.
The Owens currently own and operate the Savannah Inn at 330 Savannah Road.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
