State committee eyes purchase of Nassau Bridge parcel
A state committee that approved the purchase of land to improve the Five Points intersection also approved buying right-of-way property for road improvements at Nassau bridge.
Both properties – a 4-acre parcel that includes Best's Ace Hardware and a nearly half-acre parcel next to Nassau bridge known as the Messina parcel – are under negotiation by Delaware Department of Transportation and property owners, said C.R. McLeod, DelDOT director of community relations.
An agreement has been reached with the Best family for its Five Points property after the committee approved the purchase in March, McLeod said.
“While an agreement has been reached, the purchase is not finalized, and we can’t share additional details until the process is completed,” he said.
Following a May 3 Cape Gazette article, members of the Best family confirmed an agreement for DelDOT to purchase the land had been reached, and they are working out a deal to lease back the building for a few years.
DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan announced the land purchase during an April 29 meeting of the Five Points Working Group. Until her announcement, the parcel had been eyed for a new Royal Farms convenience store. Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission denied the Royal Farms' preliminary site plan in November because of parking concerns.
In an earlier interview, Drew Boyce, DelDOT director of planning, said the property will be used to fix major problems in the Five Points area. He said DelDOT is planning to accelerate short-term fixes at a nearby intersection popularly known as Malfunction Junction, the intersection of Plantation Road, Beaver Dam Road and Route 9. He could not offer a timeline for road improvements.
The Advanced Acquisition Committee approved moving forward with the Messina parcel following a September 2018 meeting. “They approved the action, and we are currently working through the acquisition process as well,” McLeod said. According to the Messina plumbing website, the company opened for business at the intersection of Nassau and New roads in 2018.
While details of the land purchases are under wraps for now, by Dec. 31, 2019, Delaware Code requires DelDOT submit a report of all properties it has acquired during the previous 12 months to the governor and General Assembly.
Committee set in Delaware code
The Advanced Acquisition Committee was created in 1998 by Delaware's General Assembly as part of the process of acquiring “private or public property and property rights needed to provide public thoroughfares such as pathways, roads, streets, highways, or to preserve the traffic capacity in existing thoroughfares.” Once DelDOT determines a parcel of land is needed, the committee must first approve it, according to Delaware law.
In 2018, legislators changed DelDOT policy, which previously gave DelDOT broad statutory authority to acquire property. Policy now reads, “The Department of Transportation has limited statutory authority to acquire public or private property and property rights in connection with the Department’s jurisdiction.”
Legislation that changed DelDOT policy stated that the change was needed to correct a technical error that could jeopardize federal transportation funds. The bill also sought to clarify what real property rights DelDOT could acquire.
Past DelDOT land acquisitions have drawn critism, prompting federal investigation, in particular, a two-acre sale of land in 2007 along Route 1 in Milford to a developer for $1, and the lease of about a dozen acres along Route 1 in Milford at below market rate to a former beverage company executive and friend of Gov. Ruth Ann Minner.
