State reviews trio of Lewes-area projects

Three projects in the Lewes area were presented to state agency officials during a March 27 Preliminary Land Use Service meeting in Dover.

Zwaanendael Farms L.W. and J.T. Mitchell Farms LP has proposed a mixed-use development with 208 residential units and 161,000 square feet of commercial office space in six buildings on 49 acres of agricultural-residential, AR-1, land near the intersection of Kings Highway and Gills Neck Road.

The project would require a rezoning from AR-1 to C-4 commercial. At buildout, the project would generate 10,000 average weekday vehicle trips. Under C-4 zoning, the developer would be required to submit a site plan for review with the rezoning application.

One building is already under construction. Last March, Sussex County Council approved a separate conditional-use application for Cape Henlopen Medical Center, a two-story, 39,000-square-foot medical facility at the corner of Kings Highway and Gills Neck Road.

The second proposed project, the Reed property, would require a conditional use and rezoning from AR-1 to medium-density residential, MR, for 24 residential units on 6 acres on the northwest side of Savannah Road. The proposed project would be bordered by Covey Creek and Villages at Five Points.

In late summer 2017, Sussex County Council denied a conditional-use application for a 56,600-square-foot gym and therapy center on the same parcel.

In the third proposed project, developer Nassau Property would require a rezoning from AR-1 to high-density residential, HR-1, for 168 residential units and 4,700 square feet of commercial space on a 15-acre parcel near the intersection of Route 1 and Old Mill Road near the Nassau bridge.

An application filed by the same developer received a split decision in December 2018 from county council. Members approved a commercial rezoning for a proposed 4,700-square-foot office complex but denied an AR-1 to MR rezoning application for 150 apartments.

Another application on an adjacent lot was also denied by council in December 2014. A developer had proposed a 157,000-square-foot self-storage facility on a 4-acre parcel.

State officials will provide comments to developers, and developers are required to respond to the comments. Following that phase, developers can proceed with filing applications to Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission and Sussex County Council.