Sussex council approves apartment complex

With no opposition at a Jan. 28 public hearing, Sussex County Council unanimously approved a conditional-use application for a 224-unit apartment complex on 18 acres off Route 24 behind the Rehoboth Mall.

Jim Fuqua, attorney for developer OA-Rehoboth LLC, said the project will consist of seven buildings with 32 apartments in each building, with a density of 12 units per acre. A 4.7-acre section of the CR-1, commercial-residential, zoned parcel will be set aside for future commercial use.

Fuqua said the apartments will provide workforce housing in the resort area where that type of housing is needed. “There is an issue of affordable housing and particularly in eastern Sussex County. Many people can't afford to live where they work,” he said.

“This is not low income and not discounted; it’s market rents. I want to make that clear,” said developer Preston Schell.

He said the apartments will be affordable to people making 81 to 89 percent of area median income, which is $72,100, according to Sussex County housing officials. Eighty-one percent of median would be $58,400 a year.

Schell said a person would have to make 150 percent – more than $100,000 annually – of area median income to afford a typical single-family home in the area. Housing officials say no more than 30 percent of income should be spent on housing.

Proposed monthly rents for the apartments are $1,095 for one-bedroom units, $1,395 for two-bedroom-units and $1,675 for three-bedroom units, Fuqua said.

Schell said his company’s two other apartment projects – Beach Plum Dunes in Lewes and Carillon Woods in Long Neck – have no vacancies. “They are immediately leased as soon as units are available,” he said.

Amenities will include a pool, community building, playground and dog park. Amenities must be built before the certificate of occupancy is issued for the third building.

New connector road

In the plans for the complex are two access roads, including a new connector road linking Route 24 and Airport Road. Fuqua said the applicant will provide funding and land to the Delaware Department of Transportation to construct the road, and the J.G. Townsend family will dedicate additional land for the road.

“That’s significant,” Fuqua said. “The original plan tied into a street in Sterling Crossing. The new plan only touches a tiny part of a corner. It will result in much less impact on the community and speed up the time frame for the connector road.”

Residents of Sterling Crossing, a community adjacent to the parcel, support the project. Sterling Crossing resident Kathleen Baker said, “We thank Preston Schell for his vision and Paul Townsend for his donation of land.”

Councilman Irwin “I.G.” Burton of Lewes asked when the connector road will be constructed. Fuqua and Schell said DelDOT officials told them the land donations would speed up the project by a couple of years. Schell said the project was initially scheduled for 2025-26.

Another access road to the site will be a private road from the rear parking lot of the Rehoboth Mall, which will intersect the new connector road.

Fuqua said the developer will be required to provide funding to an area-wide DelDOT study, but is not required to provide a traffic-impact study. “This area has been extensively studied,” the attorney said. A widening project along Route 24 from Route 1 to Mulberry Knoll Road is expected to start this spring.

Fuqua said the original plan for the parcel was a 141,700-square-foot shopping center with 900 parking spaces. “Apartments are much less intense use with less impact,” he said.

He said the projected weekday traffic count for the shopping center was 8,500 vehicles, while the apartment complex is expected to generate 1,657 trips per day.

Mix of commercial, residential

Burton asked how the density of the project at 12 units per acre was calculated. He said the density was closer to 18 units per acre on the developed land.

He questioned how council could know traffic counts and total impact without a plan for the set-aside commercial property. “What could be the uses?” Burton asked.

Schell said the site could support 40,000 to 50,000 square feet of commercial space, so no large shopping centers could be built there. Fuqua said medical offices would be a preferred use.

Schell said a mix of commercial and residential development is smart planning.

“I urge you not to take away a developer’s right to do residential and commercial on the same property. That would be anti-smart growth and not the direction you should go,” Schell said.

Fuqua said any future development plans for 4.7-acre parcel would be subject to review of the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission during the site-plan approval process.