Zwaanendael Club renovations on track in Lewes
Renovations to the historic Zwaanendael Club building at 302 Savannah Road in Lewes are moving right along.
A sign for the new owner, the Delaware Community Foundation, is hanging out front. The inside is also taking shape.
DCF has said the cozy, two-room building will become its “living room in Lewes,” a place to host programs and meetings.
Mike DiPaolo, DCF vice president for southern Delaware, updated the Lewes Historic Preservation Architectural Review Commission at its Aug. 1 meeting.
“We’re bringing the building back to its former beauty, including all the original windows, all the old glass is still there, all the original hinges and knobs that were covered in layers of paint,” DiPaolo said.
He said workers are doing maintenance on the slate roof and cleaning the outside brick.
The building is located in the city’s historic district, meaning the exterior cannot be significantly changed.
DCF is a nonprofit with a mission to improve Delaware through community-based philanthropy.
The organization bought the building from the Lewes Historical Society earlier this year for about $899,000. It will move its Georgetown office to the Z Club.
“We’re on track for moving into the building probably in mid- to late September. We’re planning on inviting the public soon thereafter to see the beauty of the old Zwaanendael Club,” DiPaolo said.
DiPaolo said they plan to throw a launch party Friday, Oct. 25, the day the building opened as the Sussex Trust Title and Safe Deposit Company in 1898.
“It’s a neat, sweet little building. We’re excited to bring it back to its glory and for the foundation to have a strong presence here in town,” DiPaolo said.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
