Consortium eyes Sweetbriar Road tract

A parcel of land on Sweetbriar Road could become the new home of Sussex Consortium.

The 25-acre site at 17344 Sweetbriar Road in Lewes is under consideration for a 98,000-square-foot building that will serve the county's autistic program.

The parcel, owned by Red Mill Pond Inc., went through the state Preliminary Land Use Service in November, and there were no issues, said Brian Bassett, director of Administrative Services for the Cape Henlopen School District.

“The Department of Transportation and Department of Natural Resouces and Environmental Control reviews came back, and everything was fine,” Bassett said, adding those approvals are needed in order to move on to county approvals.

Because the state will acquire the land, the project has to have PLUS and county approvals before the property goes to settlement, Bassett said.

“We have met with the lawyer on the conditional use, and he doesn't see any red flags,”

A conditional-use application was introduced Dec. 6 at Sussex County Council.

A conditional use is required because the proposed school, located midway between the intersections of Cave Neck Road and Route 9, is not a permitted use on land zoned AR-1.

Bassett said he expects the county hearing will be held in January. He said he also anticipates no issues with the process, comparing it to the smooth approval process before construction began on Love Creek Elementary on Route 24 across from Beacon Middle School.

“The is the same process we did with the Love Creek project. We don't anticipate any problems with the conditional use,” he said.

Once the conditional use is approved, Bassett said, negotiations to purchase the property will proceed.

“We're still on target for a March settlement,” he said.

During the 2016 referendum for new and renovated elementaries, the state agreed to pay for land and construct a new Sussex Consortium. At the time of the referendum, $1.9 million was earmarked to purchase land and $19 million for construction.