Destination Station project no longer on table

The proposed Destination Station at the Rehoboth Beach Park and Ride is no longer destined for the future.

Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Carol Everhart said the science- and engineering-themed attraction has been shelved. She said while the project is no longer being pursued, the chamber is open to providing its preliminary work, including feasability studies, for anyone interested in a similar type of project.

Destination Station had been in the works since 2010, when the chamber signed a memorandum of understanding with Delaware Department of Transportation to use land at the Park and Ride as part of upgrades to the facility. Everhart said Destination Station was viewed as a year-round attraction that would host science and engineering exhibits. The goal, Everhart said, was to encourage year-round visitation with an indoor attraction. The facility would be built on just over an acre of land at the Park and Ride.

Everhart said funding for Destination Station was to come mainly from private donations. DelDOT had received $1 million in federal funds to revamp the Park and Ride, which the department did in 2011. Everhart said Destination Station had raised $434,000, with much of the investment coming from the chamber. Everhart said expenditures on the project, which included feasability studies, concept drawings, a website, and legal and tax services were performed at a cost of $443,000, but more money was needed to create project renderings.

“The chamber board and the Destination Station board reached the point where they did not think it was in the best interest to continue the project,” Everhart said. She said the boards felt continuing the project was not a good use of time or money.

Julie Theyerl, spokeswoman for the DART bus service, said the Park and Ride will remain as is, with no plans for any future building on the site.