Milton planners grant conditional approval for office park

By unanimous vote, the Milton Planning and Zoning Commission approved preliminary site plans for a proposed office park at the intersection of Cedar Creek Road and Mulberry Street Extended.

The approval, granted at the commission’s March 19 meeting, is conditioned on applicant Route 16 Five Property LLC receiving a variance regarding parking requirements from the town’s board of adjustment. 

The office park would comprise 44 buildings with storage garages attached and a stormwater retention pond in the center. The park would be built on a 5-acre parcel adjacent to the Royal Farms planned for another 2-acre plot. Both projects are part of a greater 7-plus-acre parcel that was annexed into Milton in December 2020, then partitioned in July 2021. Planning and zoning officials approved a special-use permit and a preliminary site plan for Royal Farms in October 2021, and final site plans were approved by town council in June 2023. Actual construction has been delayed as Delaware Department of Transportation reviews traffic plans for the site. 

The office park was always envisioned as part of the commercial complex at the site, which is zoned C-1 commercial and across the street from the Food Lion shopping center. But the delays in Royal Farms and traffic issues have slowed progress down.

Zac Crouch, engineer for Route 16 Five Property LLC, said the need for a variance or a waiver from the parking requirements came because parking ended up encroaching into the front-yard setback after DelDOT requested an additional 15 feet of right of way at the site. Moving parking out of the setback would require a significant redesign of the project. 

In addition, Crouch said, construction on the office park has to wait for Royal Farms to be built, as the two projects will share an entrance off Cedar Creek Road. Commission Chair Richard Trask asked what would happen if Royal Farms did not get built. Route 16 Five Property LLC owner Eric Sugrue seemed taken aback by the question, but said Royal Farms has a lot of money tied to the project and has an interest in seeing it through. Tom Quass, the town project coordinator, said the town is working with Royal Farms and DelDOT, and is hoping to be further along soon. Town Solicitor Seth Thompson added that part of the delay is because the traffic-impact study for Royal Farms involves a fee on land outside the town, which requires approval by Sussex County. 

Otherwise, the commission was satisfied with the project. Crouch said Route 16 Five Property LLC has received approvals from the state fire marshal and that the entrance to the site will be able to accommodate emergency vehicles. Sugrue said the office park is intended for small businesses, and traffic into the site would be for employees and small box trucks. Each office building will have two parking spaces for employees.   

Exactly when Route 16 Five Property LLC will go before the board of adjustment for a variance is unknown. The board does not have a meeting scheduled in March, so April is the next available month.