Study outlines former Troop 7 options
Options for the future of the former Delaware State Police Troop 7 barracks site on Route 1 near Lewes include selling the land, allowing a tent encampment for homeless people to return or redeveloping it for state or community purposes.
A report completed May 1 listed options but did not recommend a course of action to pursue for the 7-acre site near Five Points.
The 220,414-square-foot property at 18006 Coastal Highway was appraised at between $4,408,272 and $5,069,513. There are 2 acres of wetlands on the property, leaving 5 available for development.
The site has been mostly vacant since Troop 7 relocated to Mulberry Knoll Road in 2019. Code Purple at the Cape, which provides emergency housing for people experiencing homelessness, used the barracks building briefly as a shelter before it was torn down in June 2024.
Some of the people who had lived there moved into nearby woods until a structured tent encampment known as Tharros Village opened for a trial period from Oct. 15 to Nov. 30 last year. That closed when Code Purple at the Cape, which also ran Tharros, opened its seasonal shelters for the winter.
Plans to reopen Camp Tharros, named for the Greek word for courage, at the former DSP site March 15 stalled when organizers found out they would need approval from county government.
Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval of a conditional use for the tent encampment, and county council must also grant approval for the use. An agreement with the state is needed as well.
Delaware Department of Transportation began using part of the site to store salt for winter road maintenance. The agency has indicated it would like to continue using the property.
In January, then-Gov. Bethany Hall-Long announced a study to determine a long-term plan for the former Troop 7 property. During an April 2 meeting at the new Troop 7 community room, dozens of Tharros Village supporters lobbied for reopening there.
StudioJAED, a consultant hired by the state, conducted the study of potential uses for the property, including soliciting public comments and suggestions.
Options include: selling the property as a whole or as two lots for retail and commercial uses; dividing it into two parcels and maintaining ownership of one or both parcels for state or public benefit; and leasing the property for a specific community benefit.
Proceeds from a sale could be granted to support creation of an emergency homeless shelter, similar to the Hope Center in New Castle County, at another location. There is support for such a shelter, as the homeless population has increased by 16% from 2024 to 2025, according to the study report.
Continued ownership and dividing the site into two parcels would allow for one or more options, such as:
• A hub of single or shared state agency operations and equipment maintenance/storage, and building up to 30,000 square feet of office space on the east parcel for nearly $13 million
• Tharros Village seasonal emergency housing
• Transitional housing for the homeless similar to the Hope Center model.
Mike Agnew of Code Purple at the Cape said May 19 he had read the study results over the weekend and was excited about its support of Tharros Village as an option.
“It positively positions Tharros throughout the report for possible reuse,” Agnew said.
Selling the property would generate revenue and support broader state strategies, such as addressing homelessness, stimulating the local economy, eliminating maintenance and operational costs at the site, and removing liability for the property, according to the study. The downside is the loss of the site for any future use by the state.
Repurposing the site could include construction of a new state building. That would allow for consolidation of operations currently in leased space, but building might be more expensive than leasing space, and leased sites may be more accessible to the public than the Route 1 site.
Philip Conte, president and CEO of StudioJAED, said his company updated a property survey it conducted in 2020 to take into account the demolition of the state police barracks, the higher appraisal and the recent operation of Tharros Village.
Jennifer Coverdale, director of the state Office of Management and Budget’s Division of Facilities Management, said May 16 that the report has been sent to the state Office of the Controller General and a joint committee on capital improvements for their review.
It is too early to know what may become of the recommendations, Coverdale 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.
