Development eyed near Belle Mead, Atlantic Fields
As discussions for the Atlantic Fields shopping center and Belle Mead mixed-use project continue in Sussex County, another residential development is being proposed in the same area.
Goldsboro Farm, a 307-unit single-family-home community, is eyed for a 257-acre parcel on Mulberry Knoll Road immediately adjacent to Belle Mead and running west to Love Creek.
The project is set to go before the Preliminary Land Use Service at 11:15 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 29. Meetings are open to the public. Comments can be made at the end of discussion on the topic.
The developer is not seeking to rezone the land, which is currently AR-1, agricultural-residential. It will seek the cluster subdivision option in county code. The project falls in state strategies levels 2, 3 and 4.
There are 137 acres of forest on the property; the developer plans to remove 55 acres. There are 83 acres of tidal wetlands and 2.5 acres of nontidal wetlands. A wetland area runs through the middle of the property, so the developer expects to directly impact 0.25 acres of wetlands to build a vehicular bridge to connect parts of the community.
The application shows 174 acres of open space which will be used for active recreation, passive recreation, stormwater management and wildlife habitat.
The development is estimated to generate 3,000 vehicle trips on an average weekday.
The developer says the community’s roads could potentially be connected to Love Creek mobile home park or Belle Mead. The plans show a stub road to Love Creek MHP, but none near the border with Belle Mead.
The entrance to the community will be on Mulberry Knoll Road near Four Seasons at Scenic Harbor, a 319-unit subdivision currently under construction.
The project is also near Beacon Middle School, as well as many other existing subdivisions.
Belle Mead is a controversial project working its way through Sussex County’s approval process. The 344-unit project includes five commercial buildings near Route 24, four structures behind them with commercial space on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors, and seven multifamily apartment buildings in the back of the property. The developer is seeking to rezone the property from AR-1 to C-4, planned commercial.
Atlantic Fields is a 695,000-square-foot commercial center along Route 24, which would be built at the corner with Mulberry Knoll Road. The developer is seeking to rezone the 73.5-acre site from AR-1 to C-4.
Other PLUS business
At 10:45 a.m., PLUS will review Cedarcrest, a 650-unit cluster subdivision proposed for 471.6 acres of land at the corner of Route 9 and Warrington Road, west of Route 113 in Georgetown. The project falls in state strategies levels 3 and 4 and is proposed for an unincorporated area of Sussex County.
At 11:45 a.m., PLUS will review Robbins property, a 105-unit single-family-home subdivision proposed for 150.6 acres of land at the corner of Shawnee Road and Old Shawnee Road southwest of Milford. The project falls in state strategies levels 2, 3 and 4.
At 1 p.m., PLUS will review an expansion plan for Bay City mobile home park on Cedar Street in Long Neck. The plan is to add 98 home sites to the existing mobile home park. The project falls in state strategies levels 2, 3 and 4.
Nick Roth is the news editor. He has been with the Cape Gazette since 2012, previously covering town beats in Milton and Lewes. In addition to serving on the editorial board and handling page layout, Nick is responsible for the weekly Delaware History in Photographs feature and enjoys writing stories about the Cape Region’s history. Prior to the Cape Gazette, Nick worked for the Delmarva Media Group, including the Delaware Wave, Delaware Coast Press and Salisbury Daily Times. He also contributed to The News Journal. Originally from Boyertown, Pa., Nick attended Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania, graduating in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He’s won several MDDC awards during his career for both writing and photography. In his free time, he enjoys golfing, going to the beach with his family and cheering for Philadelphia sports teams.
