A proposed 695,000-square-foot retail center on Route 24 near Rehoboth Beach includes Costco, Target and Whole Foods Market, according to project documents.

Sketches provided to Sussex County Planning & Zoning Department show those stores are among the 23 proposed structures. The applicant is Mulberry Knoll Associates, which is owned by Southside Investment Partners.

Ben Hoskins, president of applicant Southside Investment Partners, which is based in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area, declined Sept. 2 to confirm commitments by specific retailers before a public hearing of the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission at 3 p.m., Sept. 17 in Georgetown.

Costco would occupy a 175,000-square-foot building and have a separate gas station along Route 24, which is also known as John J. Williams Highway, according to documents.

The project, known as Atlantic Fields, has been made viable by the drastic increase in the number of year-round residents in recent years in Sussex County, Hoskins said.

“This is no longer a three-month market,” he said. “A lot of retailers no longer see this as a seasonal market.”

The tentative plan – contingent on many factors, such as local approvals – is to begin mobilizing for construction of the $150 million project in about a year and hold a grand opening in May 2028, Hoskins said.

“There is a lot of demand,” he said of potential tenants. “We’re interested in attracting the best-in-class retailers and restaurateurs.”

The project is attracting dozens of businesses, said Hoskins, who noted the goal is to bring in new businesses, not relocate existing ones.

Southside Investment Partners specializes in developing retail shopping centers and mixed-use developments, but the Rehoboth Beach project does not include any residential space, Hoskins said.

The project site includes two lots with a total of 73.5 acres on the northwest side of Route 24, about 400 feet south of Plantation Road. The site extends to the northwest corner of Mulberry Knoll Road.

Zoning is now AR-1, agricultural-residential, and the developer is requesting a change to C-4, planned commercial.

The applicant has also submitted a request to subdivide the two parcels that comprise the project site into 11 lots.

The county has designated this as a growth area targeted for commercial development, and the project is compatible with the county comprehensive plan, a county staff analysis concluded. 

A traffic impact study was conducted for the applicant by Bowman Consulting Group, taking into account anticipated conditions in 2028 and 2045.

The project is projected to generate 26,271 daily vehicle trips. The average daily volume of traffic on Route 24 at the site in 2022 was 18,591 vehicles year-round and 23,713 vehicles during the summer tourism season.   

The traffic study reviewed two scenarios: one set by the Delaware Department of Transportation that includes four site accesses, and a second designed by the applicant, which has three entrances on Route 24, three on Mulberry Knoll Road and one on Plantation Road. 

Road improvements in the developer’s plan would include two roundabouts on Mulberry Knoll Road and one on Plantation Road.

The state has been improving roads in the area, including a project to widen Route 24 that extends across the project site, which was completed last year. More road work in the area is planned.

Opposition to the project has been mounting in recent weeks. Many residents in the communities surrounding the site have raised concerns, many of which focus on the inability of Route 24 to carry any additional traffic. Others have shared concerns about environmental issues. 

As of Sept. 4, the county had received 106 comments on the application – 55 opposed and 51 in favor. Proponents tout job creation and economic benefits, among other positives. 

County planning & zoning staff asked the developer to delineate boundaries and parking areas for each lot, pedestrian sidewalks and multimodal routes, and details for public transit access.

A wellhead protection area extends across the northeastern portion of the property, and plans will have to take that into account and comply with county regulations, according to county planners. Fuel storage tanks for the gas station will be in that area and must also comply with county rules.

A West Coast native, Hoskins said he has lived on the East Coast since college and is a Baltimore resident. He said he has visited Sussex County many times over the years.

“I love Rehoboth and the surrounding communities,” he said. “It’s a nice coincidence to be able to do business there.”