12/29/2009
Barley Mill development plan filed - Delaforum

“Barley Mill development plan filed”
Article posted December 29, 2009 in Delaforum [www.Delaforum.com]
MEMOS AT RANDOM

County Councilman Robert Weiner accused Stoltz Reality of reneging on a commitment to work with community interests and "scale down" the scope of its plan to replace the former Du Pont Co. Barley Mill Plaza office complex with a mixed commercial and residential development. Weiner said that the Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based firm submitted an unrevised major subdivision plan on Dec. 18, the day before its previously approved exploratory plan was to have expired. The county Department of Land Use did not announce the filing but, according to a posting on its website, the plan calls for removal of just over 1 million square feet of office space and construction of 2.8 million square feet of new space for mixed uses on 92 acres.

Weiner described the project as "the largest in the history of Delaware" adding that "some of the buildings in the Stoltz plan are 10, 11 and 12 stories tall." Although the property is appropriately zoned and the project could proceed once it is determined to be compliant with technical requirements of the Unified Development Code, Weiner indicated that there may be court litigation challenging the department's acceptance of the proposal under terms of the "vaguely drafted county redevelopment ordinance," which grants a developer extra density in return for restoring an unused or underused property. The redevelopment process does not subject the plan to an additional public hearing and Council cannot reject it after it successfully undergoes technical review.

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