Apartment development proposed

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The Delaware Planning Commission listened to a concept plan review for a potential apartment development in northwest Delaware during a meeting held March 2.

Lucy Ridge LLC, a subsidiary of Wilcox Communities, has submitted the concept plan that would include 282 single-story apartment units on approximately 47.25 acres located west of Troy Road and north of the future Merrick Boulevard. The site is zoned R-4 (Medium Density Residential District) and R-6 (Multi-Family Residential District).

According to Jonathan Wilcox, co-owner of Wilcox Communities, floor plans range from approximately 1,100-1,400 square feet, and each unit would include an attached two-car garage. A dog park and community garden are also included as proposed amenities in the concept submitted to the commission.

An 8.25-acre open space area south of Merrick Boulevard is proposed to contain a detention basin and remain as open space, preserving an existing stand of trees in the area. During the meeting, Planning and Community Development Director Dave Efland said that, should the proposal move forward into advanced stages, the open space would be worth exploring as space dedicated to the city, which could then program it as public parkland.

City documents for the concept plan stated, “This site has been annexed and zoned within the city for decades, and the clustering of development generally north of future Merrick Boulevard while allowing for open space toward the south of the site makes for a practical and logical physical land use arrangement rather than having a private development site bifurcated by Merrick Boulevard.”

Renderings for the site layout show just one full-access point on Troy Road, with an emergency-only access point on the future Merrick Boulevard extension, directly across from Cambridge Road. Efland said during the meeting that the emergency access would need to be changed to include full access to provide multiple access points to the site. He added that, should the plans move forward, the access point on Merrick Boulevard could become the primary access point rather than on Troy Road.

The extension of Merrick Boulevard to Troy Road and, eventually, east of Troy Road towards U.S. Route 23 has been a topic of much discussion from the city, particularly as it pertains to the Addison Farms proposal that recently received approval of a preliminary development plan by Delaware City Council. Efland pointed out during the meeting that the Lucy Ridge concept would provide the city an opportunity to finally connect Merrick Boulevard to Troy Road.

“I think the exciting part of this project, beyond unit types that our market studies clearly indicate are desirable in our market … is that it would really present a real first opportunity for the City of Delaware to complete the missing link of Merrick Parkway to where it stubs at Troy Road. And I think if we can do that in a well-planned and thoughtful way as it’s conceptually laid out here, all the better.”

A parcel to the northeast of the proposed Lucy Ridge development is zoned B-3 (Community Business District) and will likely have a commercial component in the future. Including more connectivity within the development to the commercial component, depending on the possible use, was discussed as an area to consider should the plans move forward, as was better connectivity from the western portions of the site to Troy Road and Smith Park.

Comments from the commissioners following the presentation were mostly supportive of the concept proposal, with Chairman Stacy Simpson saying the proposal works well for all parties involved.

“For me, on this plan, I just look at the opportunistic development here,” Simpson said. “It’s mutually beneficial, not only for the city and the neighboring residents because of the connectivity it adds by extending Merrick Parkway, but I think it is a great opportunity for (the developer) to put a profitable development in here that will meet the community’s needs.”

Because the meeting was only an informal concept review, there was no action taken by the commission.

Pictured is the concept plan for the Lucy Ridge apartment development proposed to be built across from Smith Park on Troy Road in Delaware.
https://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2022/03/web1_Lucy-Ridge.jpgPictured is the concept plan for the Lucy Ridge apartment development proposed to be built across from Smith Park on Troy Road in Delaware. Courtesy | Faris Planning & Design

By Dillon Davis

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Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.

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