Townsend Co. requests rezoning to sell 10 acres parcel
J.G. Townsend Jr. and Co. has 10 acres of land behind Walmart in Rehoboth Beach it wants to sell.
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John G. Townsend: Political, farming pioneer
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John G. Townsend Jr., who died in 1964 at the age of 93, is among the most fascinating men in Delaware history.
Besides growing one of the largest agribusinesses in the state, he was a member of the state House, a two-time U.S. senator, governor and delegate to the first session of the United Nations in 1946. His political career is intertwined in the history of Sussex County. In 1928, he defeated incumbent Sen. Thomas F. Bayard Jr., the grandfather of attorney Gene Bayard, who was representing the company at the May 27 planning and zoning commission hearing. Townsend was unseated after two terms by another notable attorney with a connection to Sussex County, James T. Tunnell of Georgetown. Townsend farmed a variety of crops, including strawberries, and had 500 acres of fruit trees. At one time, he was the second-leading fruit grower in the United States. Townsend was also a pioneer in the poultry industry, opening a hatchery in 1938 and the company’s first poultry-processing plant in 1957. As one of the leading poultry companies in the United States, Townsend’s Inc. now has 3,500 employees in several states with an annual poultry production of more than $350 million. |
The sale would also aid state transportation officials in a plan to build a connector road to relieve traffic on Route 1.
The company is asking Sussex County officials to rezone the parcel under one classification, CR-1, commercial-residential district.
The tilled parcel, also located adjacent to the Sterling Crossing subdivision, lies in three zones: C-1, the old commercial district; B-1, neighborhood-business district; and AR-1, agricultural-residential district.
The Townsend Co. has plans to donate one acre of land to the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) to build a connector road between Airport Road and Route 24 adjacent to Beebe Health Campus, then on to Postal Lane near Route 1.
Gene Bayard, attorney representing the company, made it clear during the planning and zoning commission hearing May 27, that the company has no plans to develop the parcel.
He said proceeds from the sale of the parcel would allow the Townsend Co. to purchase more farmland to expand its century-old vegetable- and small-grain growing business.
Commissioners deferred on a decision and placed the request on the Wednesday, June 10 meeting agenda. Meetings start at 6 p.m. in the county administration building in downtown Georgetown.
Bayard said the Townsend Co. has been in business, with an office at 420 N. Race St., Georgetown, since 1911. Today, the company produces 10 million pounds of vegetables annually on farms totaling 3,200 acres with 36 full-time and 30 part-time employees.
Bayard said in order to make way for the connector road, an existing barn, shop, home and retail shop off Old Landing Road must be moved or demolished.
Ted Bishop, DelDOT’s assistant director for development coordination, said the connector road is still in the conceptual phase with no dates set for design work or construction. He said plans call for the connector road to extend north of Route 24 to link Airport Road with Postal Lane. That leg of the proposed road would be adjacent to Summercrest and Woods Cove developments. Rights of way have been secured from Sterling Crossing, Summercrest and Woods Cove, although other rights-of-way needed to complete the route have not been secured, Bishop said.
“It will take a few more years to work on the various pieces,” he said. “We need participation from the developers; the first link is the participation of the Townsends.”
Bishop said plans for the connector road date back to the late 1990s.
