Lewes brownfield clean-up, development to change hands

A 168-unit apartment complex off Plantation Road that would offer affordable housing in the Lewes area is facing more delays as a new developer eyes the project.

The Arbors of Cottagedale Apartments, originally approved with a conditional use by Sussex County officials in 2009, is slated to be built on a current brownfield site. The current owner, CB Lewes LLC, plans to sell the site to a new developer, thus requiring a new brownfield development agreement with the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said DNREC Site Investigation and Restoration Administrator Tim Ratsep.

“This is a site that keeps reincarnating itself,” Ratsep said. A brownfield development agreement must be in place before a new developer can purchase the property, he said.

The plan for cleanup will remain the same despite new owners, Ratsep said. Cleaning the brownfield site, known as the Jackson Pit site, requires removing decades worth of household and lumber-related debris.

The Jackson Pit brownfield site dates back to the 1960s, when people excavated dirt and sand for other uses, leaving a big hole behind, Ratsep said in a 2015 interview. The pit then became a place for dumping household debris in the 1970s until 1982. From 1983 to 1993, the site was approved by DNREC for dumping tree stumps, masonry debris and lumber. Once filled, the pit was covered with dirt.

Potential methane releases from decomposing wood debris is DNREC’s main environmental concern, prompting a cleanup plan that requires complete excavation of the site before development of the Arbors of Cottagedale can begin.

Previous site investigation found an area of PAHs – polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – which are incombustible chemicals similar to charcoal, that have since been removed. Several groundwater samples also found arsenic, cobalt, iron and manganese, all at levels below risk to human health, Ratsep said in 2015.

However, he said, no drinking wells will be permitted on site.

The development plan is the same as it was two years ago when the cleanup was approved and the project deadline extended, said Jay Freebery, president of construction at Chatham Bay, which will be overseeing the project.

“Once we get truly blessed by DNREC, we would like to get started right away,” he said.

Cleanup costs still need to be hashed out, Freebery said.

“We want to utilize the brownfield program and then assess where we are after we dig in,” he said. “We're currently going through the cost estimate, but there are no hard numbers yet.”

Ratsep said a nonprofit would be eligible for up to $625,000 in matching funds through the state's Brownfield Development Program. However, about $200,000 has already been spent on the site for studies and planning, leaving up to $425,000 for the new developer.

“We're good at complicated projects and complicated financing structures,” Freebery said. “It fits with our redevelopment of brownfields, with an affordable housing component. It kind of fits our profile.”

Freebery said Chatham Bay has constructed about 500 single-family homes and more than 1,000 apartments in about 12 years throughout Philadelphia, Baltimore, Iowa, Wilmington and Newark.

The Arbors of Cottagedale development, as approved, is slated to include 26 affordable housing units out of the total 168 units through the county's Moderately Priced Rental Unit Program. The change of ownership requires no additional approvals from the county, and there is no timeframe for the project's completion, said Sussex County Planning and Zoning Director Janelle Cornwell.

If everything goes as planned, Freebery said he hopes to have the apartments available for rent by the beginning of 2019.