New plan unveiled for land at routes 1, 16
Plans for a development at the intersection of Routes 1 and 16 near Milton are taking shape to include about 500,000 square feet of commercial space and up to 500 residential units.
Ocean One Holdings LLC, based in Rehoboth Beach, is marketing plans for the 65-acre retail and entertainment project.
“We’re working with some national retailers that want to be at that location,” said Joel Sens, managing partner of Ocean One. “Names that anybody would recognize.”
Sussex County Council approved a zoning change from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to C-3, heavy commercial, for 65 acres in March 2024.
The 65 acres are part of a larger 115-acre parcel. Sens said he plans to ask the county to rezone the entire 115-acre site to C-4, planned commercial, which will include the retail and housing portions of the plan.
Plans discussed in 2024 included an arbitrary layout, which is coming into focus after discussions with potential tenants, Sens said.
The original plan for the site, west of Route 1 and south of Route 16, included 11 commercial buildings and no residential buildings.
A yet-to-be-determined number of the 450 to 500 residences planned for Ocean One will be affordable housing, Sens said.
“We’re trying to tailor the development of that site for what the market needs,” Sens said of the housing component.
“We do have a great need for affordable housing,” said Sussex County Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum when asked about the project Dec. 31. “To bring people closer to where they work helps in all kinds of ways.”
She said affordable housing is one of many considerations when the county reviews development proposals.
Councilman Steve McCarron said Dec. 31 he was not familiar with details of the Ocean One project but he supports construction of affordable housing.
“I prefer the term workforce housing,” McCarron said. “I think we have to give priority to help our workers to live where they work.”
Shorter drives to work mean less traffic on already congested roads, he said.
Much of the housing built in recent years is for retirees moving to Sussex County, but the housing needs of local residents require need more attention, McCarron said. High schools in the county graduate about 2,000 students each year, and more needs to be done to make housing affordable to help retain that young pool of talented people, he said.
A brochure for Ocean One includes 13 commercial spaces, among them four anchor stores ranging in size from 75,000 to 135,000 square feet, a grocery store and a hotel.
“It’s all driven by what the tenant plans for that market,” Sens said. “The sizes are going to be determined by the tenants.”
Agreements with potential tenants have not been completed, but possibilities include a movie theater, an aquarium and a small water park, he said.
Costco is one major retailer that Sens said he wishes he had committed to the site. The company plans to build a store in the proposed Atlantic Fields commercial development on Route 24 near Rehoboth Beach. There has been a mix of reactions to that proposal; among them is considerable opposition from people worried about issues including traffic congestion and safety.
“We feel this is the site where the Costco should be built,” Sens said of his property, noting the easy access from Route 1, where the state has been building a set of bridges over Route 16, one of them already completed.
The Ocean One project is expected to be completed in two years, he said.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
