Delaware beach resort may get its first major shopping center
Visitors to Delaware’s most popular summer resort may soon be able to stop at Target to pick up the towels and beach chairs they left behind at home.
Baltimore-Washington, D.C.-based Southside Investors has presented plans and sketches to Delaware’s Sussex County Planning & Zoning Department for a 695,000-sq. ft. center to be anchored by Target, Costco, and Whole Foods in Rehoboth Beach.
Called Atlantic Fields, the $150 million project aims to be the first major shopping destination in the town, according to Delaware’s Cape Gazette, which noted a marked increase in year-round residents.
More than 25,000 — many affluent — beachgoers flock to Rehoboth in summertime, among them President Joe Biden and his wife.
“This is no longer a three-month market. A lot of retailers no longer see this as a seasonal market,” Southside president Ben Hoskins told the Gazette. “There is a lot of demand. We’re interested in attracting the best-in-class retailers and restaurateurs.”
Atlantic Fields is projected to generate 26,271 daily vehicle trips. The average daily volume of traffic on Route 24 at the site in 2022 was 18,591 vehicles year-round, rising to 23,713 vehicles during the summer.
The project site includes two lots with a total of 73.5 acres on the northwest side of Route 24. Sketches of the project provided to Sussex County show 23 proposed structures planned for Atlantic Fields. Costco would occupy a 175,000-sq.-ft. store with a gas station.
On Sept. 2, Sussex County declined to confirm commitments by specific retailers. Current zoning for the site is agricultural and residential. Southside is requesting that it be changed to planned commercial zoning. The county zoning commission has set a public hearing on the project for Sept. 17.
Many residents in the communities surrounding the site have raised concerns, many of which focus on the inability of Route 24 to carry any additional traffic, reported the Cape Gazette.