Major projects under construction in Cape Region

COVID-19 pandemic has not slowed down commercial development in the area

Beebe Specialty Surgical Hospital on Warrington Road, between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, a $125 million, four-story, 135,000-square-foot facility, is expected to be completed in summer 2022. Healthy Way, a new road, is a leg of a new circle on Warrington Road. RON MACARTHUR PHOTOS

Ron MacArthur

February 17, 2021

Work on commercial projects has not slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several major projects are underway or on the drawing board in the Cape Region, including one of the largest building projects in the history of Beebe Healthcare.

Three apartment complexes – with a total of 679 units – are either scheduled to open this year or set to begin construction.

Three hotels have opened over the past six months with 307 rooms, and another two are under construction. In addition, two new grocery stores are expected to open this year.

Construction is ongoing in the Cape Henlopen School District with three projects.

Medical

Beebe Specialty Surgical Hospital Campus, Warrington Road, between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach – $125 million, four-story, 135,000-square-foot facility expected to be completed summer 2022.

Bayhealth, Route 9 and Hudson Road near Harbeson – Stand-alone emergency department and walk-in clinic. Construction has not started.

Aspira Health, 18068 Coastal Highway near Lewes – Walk-in clinic with primary care, house calls and pediatrics plus COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, opened in October.

Medical facility, Route 16 and Route 30, Milton – Plans include a 40,000-square-foot medical office building at the intersection. Pending.

Apartments

Weston Willows, Route 9, Georgetown – 287-unit apartment complex in 12 buildings on 27 acres with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Construction is underway.

Coastal Tide apartments, Mackenzie Way off Plantation Road, Lewes – 168 units, including 26 units in Sussex County's affordable rental program, with one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. First residents have moved in.

Seaglass at Rehoboth, off Route 24 – 224-unit apartment complex on 19-acre parcel. Site work is underway.

Senior-living facilities

Plantation Senior Living, Plantation and Cedar Grove roads, between Lewes and Rehoboth – Three-story, 160,000-square-foot facility with 144 mixed independent, assisted-living and memory-care units. Site work is underway.

The Lodge at Historic Lewes, Savannah Road and Kings Highway – A 220,000-square-foot, 175-unit senior-living facility with independent, assisted-living and memory-care rooms. Revised final site plan approved by Lewes officials.

Grocery stores

Redner's Fresh Market, Route 9 and Nassau Commons Boulevard, Lewes – 49,000-square-foot grocery store with fuel pumps, opening planned by the end of 2021. Site work is underway.

ALDI, Route 1, Rehoboth Beach – Construction is underway at the former Kmart shopping center.

Hotels

Tanger Microtel, Holland Glade Road, Rehoboth Beach – 78-room hotel adjacent to Tanger Seaside Outlets. Site plan approved by Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission.

Hyatt House, Marsh Road, Lewes – 96 rooms, under construction, opening summer 2021.

Home 2 Suites by Hilton, Ocean One Plaza, Lewes – 110 rooms, opened September 2020.

Residence Inn by Marriott, Route 24, Rehoboth Beach – 104 rooms, opened in January.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Midway – 93 rooms, opened June 2020.

Days Inn Hotel, Route 1 northbound and Parsonage Road, Rehoboth Beach – 60 rooms on 1.3 acres. Site work underway.

Three hotels have been proposed within Rehoboth Beach city limits, including the Belhaven on the Boardwalk at Rehoboth Avenue, Atlantic Crown on Baltimore Avenue, and Rehoboth Grand on Rehoboth Avenue at State Road.

Restaurants

Agave Tequila Bar and Restaurant, Route 1, Rehoboth Beach (location of former Jake's Seafood House) – Planned opening in mid-2021. Construction is underway.

Nicola Family Pizza Restaurant, 17510 Coastal Highway, Lewes – A 9,640-square-foot, two-story restaurant, a 1,726-square-foot deck and 144 parking spaces. Site plan approved by Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission. Site work is underway.

Taco Reho in Rehoboth Beach is moving north along Route 1 taking over the former Burger King restaurant building.

The Pond in Rehoboth Beach has moved to the former TGI Fridays restaurant in the Shops at Sea Coast on the southbound lanes of Route 1. Opened first week in April.

Big Oyster Brewery, Kings Highway, Lewes – Planned expansion of existing brewpub with offices and parking. Existing First Baptist Church of Lewes buildings will be reused.

Beachfire Brewing Co., Canal Crossing Road and Central Street, Rehoboth – A two-story, 7,000-square-foot brewpub on the Junction and Breakwater Trail in West Rehoboth. Plan has been approved.

Schools

Milton Elementary School – Renovation/construction utilizing original 1939 building, opening September 2021.

Lewes School – Renovation/construction incorporating original 1921 building into a new Shields Elementary School, opening during 2021-22 school year. Existing Shields Elementary will be demolished to make way for the district's third middle school.

Cape Henlopen High School – Addition of a new wing to provide 20 new classrooms and additional space for consortium students, opening September 2021. However, construction should be completed by the end of spring.

The district has already completed new facilities for H.O. Brittingham Elementary School in Milton, Rehoboth Elementary School, Love Creek Elementary School and Sussex Consortium.

Approved site plans

Ocean Park, Cedar Grove and Plantation roads, between Lewes and Rehoboth – Three retail/office/restaurant buildings.

Artisans’ Bank, Route 24, Rehoboth – A 3,632-square-foot bank at entrance to Beebe Healthcare Rehoboth campus.

Dolle's Candyland, Route 1 and Steamboat Landing Road, between Lewes and Milton – A 5,125-square-foot building for retail sales, production and storage. Dolle's store formerly on the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk has reopened at Ibach's Candy by the Sea.

Tanger Fitness Center, Holland Glade Road, Rehoboth – An 18,018-square-foot fitness center adjacent to Tanger Seaside Outlets.

Plaza Nine, Route 9 and Fisher Road, near Lewes – A 75,000-square-foot retail center with access to Lewes-Georgetown Trail.

Coastal Station Phase 2, Holland Glade Road, Rehoboth – Preliminary plans for the parcel behind Royal Farms on Route 1 include a hotel, and residential and commercial use.

Atlantic Concrete, Old Orchard Road, Lewes – Plans include a 3,200-square-foot building, new conveyor system, parking and storage bins.

Tranquility at Breakwater, Old Orchard Road, Lewes – A 75,000-square-foot assisted-living/skilled-nursing facility with 104 beds.

Peninsula Square, Route 24 and Autumn Road, Long Neck – Mixed development on 30 acres including a hotel, restaurant, and retail and office space.

Donovan’s Painting and Drywall, Route 9 near Church Street intersection – 2,599-square-foot office and 1,794-square-foot storage building.

Bioenergy Devco, Bioenergy Innovation Center, Enviro Way off Route 13A, south of Seaford – Expansion of existing composting facility to convert poultry processing plant waste into natural gas and compost using an anaerobic digester process.

Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp, 8295 Brick Granary Road, Lincoln – Addition of aqua park and bath houses.

Other projects

R.E. Michel Co., Janice Road and Route 1, Lewes – 24,700-square-foot building for the HVAC company in the former Best Equipment building. Construction underway.

Dewey Beer Co. has opened a 9,900-square-foot microbrewery and tasting room at 18499 Harbeson Road, just north of the Route 9 intersection in Harbeson.

Community Bank opened a new branch on the southbound lanes of Route 1, Rehoboth Beach.

Henlopen Condominium, Rehoboth Beach – Two-year project to replace exterior railings, repair decks, repaint exterior, install new roof and new lighting.

New office/retail center is under construction along Marsh Road in Five Points Square, Lewes.

Bakers Petroleum Country Corners Market, Wescoats Road, Lewes – Rebuilt Exxon station is open with 3,748 square feet of retail space and 29 parking spaces.

Capstone Homes, 28555 Lewes-Georgetown Highway, near Lewes – A 7,596 square-foot, two-story sales and design center. Under construction.

Artesian Wastewater Management – A 650,000-gallon-per-day regional sewage treatment facility on a 127-acre parcel along Isaacs Road and Reynolds Pond Road near Milton. Site plan approved.

Proposed

Clear Space Theatre, Rehoboth Avenue, Rehoboth Beach.

Chappell Farms LLC, Route 1 and Cave Neck Road, Milton – 156 apartments and 40,000 square feet of commercial space.

Milton Elementary School is undergoing a major renovation-construction project with a scheduled opening this September for the start of the new school year.

Demolition of a storage facility has been completed to make way for construction of the new Nicola Family Pizza Restaurant in Ocean One Plaza off Route 1 near Lewes.

Workers go on a lift as they work at the site of a new Hyatt House off Marsh Road near Lewes. The hotel is scheduled to open this summer.

The Cape Henlopen High School expansion project is entering its final construction phase.

Interior work is ongoing on a new ALDI grocery store at the location of the former Kmart along Route 1, Rehoboth Beach.

Site work on the Redner’s Fresh Market project is underway. The new grocery store will be located near the corner of Route 9 and Nassau Commons Boulevard, Lewes.

Agave Tequila Bar and Restaurant will open in the former Jake’s Seafood House on the southbound side of Route 1 just past the Route 24 intersection.

Dewey Beer Co. brewpub on Harbeson Road just north of the Route 9 intersection has opened its doors.

The Pond, relocating from downtown Rehoboth Beach, opened in the Shops at Sea Coast off Route 1 the first week in April.

Weston Willows, a 287-unit apartment complex in 12 buildings on 27 acres, is under construction along Route 9 near Gravel Hill.

Work is progressing on the new Hyatt House along Marsh Road and Route 1 near Lewes with an opening planned this summer.

A new Rehoboth Beach branch of Community Bank recently opened at 30099 Veterans Way off the southbound lanes of Route 1.

Dreamer Coffee and Juice Bar has plans to move into the vacant Dolle’s building on the Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach. Dolle’s moved out the last day of 2020 and relocated a few doors down at Ibach's Candy by the Sea.

Capstone Homes is in the process of building a new office and showroom on Route 9 west of Lewes.

Home 2 Suites by Hilton has opened in Ocean One Plaza off Route 1 and Savannah Road near Lewes. A new Nicola Pizza restaurant is being built in the same plaza.

Henlopen Condominiums in Rehoboth Beach is wrapped up tight as work continues on a two-year exterior improvement project.

This is an artist’s rendition of the proposed Bayhealth medical facility planned for land at the intersection of Route 9 and Hudson Road near Harbeson.

Residence Inn by Marriott, on Route 24 near the Plantation Road intersection north of Rehoboth Beach, opened in early 2021.

Site work is under on a 60-room Days Inn Hotel at the intersection of Route 1 northbound and Parsonage Road, Rehoboth Beach.

Although not in the Cape Region, Amazon is coming to Sussex County. The company is in the process of renovating an existing warehouse in Seaford as a distribution center.

The first renters have moved in at Coastal Tide Apartments off Plantation Road, Lewes.

Site work continues on Plantation Senior Living, a 160,000-square-foot facility with 144 mixed independent, assisted-living and memory-care units near the intersection of Plantation and Cedar Grove roads between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.

A new section of stores/offices is nearing completion at Five Points Square near Lewes.

Site work and a large addition are underway for a new R.E. Michel Co. facility at the former Best Equipment location off Route 1 and Janice Road, Lewes. The new building for the HVAC company will be 24,700 square feet.