Rehoboth grants second extension for motel demolition
Citing ongoing safety concerns, Rehoboth Beach has granted permission to Onix Group, the developer of the Boardwalk-facing hotel between Rehoboth and Baltimore avenues, to continue the demolition of Grotto Pizza and Sirocco Motel through Friday, June 27.
Demolition activities will be permitted 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, said Lynne Coan, city spokesperson, in a June 5 statement provided to the Cape Gazette.
This is the construction site for One Rehoboth Avenue Hotel, a 60-room hotel that will stretch the width of the block from Rehoboth Avenue to Baltimore Avenue and fronts the Boardwalk. It’s being built by Grotto Pizza and Pennsylvania-based real estate developer Onix Group. The footprint of the new hotel includes the motel and the restaurant, but also the former Dolle’s Candyland property on the Boardwalk and the Kohr Bros. Frozen Custard location on Rehoboth Avenue. Those two buildings will also be demolished, but not this summer.
This is the second extension the city has granted to the developer for the demolition of the motel and restaurant. There’s an annual code-mandated moratorium on demolitions that runs May 15 to Sept. 15.
Demolition at the site began in late April, but quickly stalled when it was discovered there were significant structural issues with the motel. In order to safely do the by-hand demolition of the motel from the roof down, weeks were spent installing large wooden timbers from the ground up on each floor for support.
Three days before this year’s moratorium was set to begin, the city announced it was allowing demolition until Friday, June 13.
The developer now plans to utilize a 70-foot high-reach excavator to dismantle the building swiftly, said Coan.
This second extension has been granted so the developer may remove the dangerous structure safely and as expeditiously as possible, said City Manager Taylour Tedder, in a prepared statement.
“The building continues to pose a clear safety concern,” said Tedder.
See more in the Tuesday, June 10, edition of the Cape Gazette.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
