Plans for a condominium development on the west side of Delaware are still on the table despite considerable delays that have prevented the plans from moving forward to date.

During last week’s meeting of Delaware City Council, WEEE LLC received approval for a one-year extension to the previously approved preliminary development plan for a Planned Residential District development on approximately 18.28 acres located on the west side of Houk Road and just north of Greenlawn Drive.

The preliminary development plan consists of 42 single-family dwelling units being constructed on the site. The land owner originally submitted a concept review in 2017 that proposed a mixed-use development consisting of single-family homes, condominiums and office space. However, the plan was revised in 2020 to include only 42 condominiums.

Both the Delaware Planning Commission and council approved a conditional use permit and preliminary development plan last year for the site, but progress on those plans has been slowed by the pandemic, contractor shortages, and difficulties finding an end developer.

“The applicant, with COVID and delays related to labor materials and also just finding a potential end developer, has requested another year to be able to go through those processes and potentially bring back a final development plan,” Planning and Community Development Director Dave Efland told council during last week’s meeting.

Councilman Cory Hoffman added that by not granting the extension, nothing would change with the proposal, but the developer would need to restart the same process already completed in recent years.

Bringing development to the site has proven to be a tedious process through the years. In 2001, a previous landowner of one of the parcels making up the site had proposed to construct a 38-unit condominium development. Those plans never came to fruition, however, despite being granted five extensions on the preliminary development plan originally approved. The preliminary development plan finally expired in 2009 due to development inactivity.

Efland noted that as a preliminary development plan, the current proposal still has details that need to be addressed before the plan can move forward to the final development plan phase.