DEWEY BEACH, Del. - The future of Ruddertowne, a Dewey Beach community, is moving forward.
"This is the only place in southern Delaware where a lot of electricians and plumbers are getting to work," said State Senator Ernie Lopez, of Dewey Beach.
Lopez hosted a community meeting Saturday to share information from various state agencies regarding moving forward on the Ruddertowne redevelopment project.
It's a project boasting construction of a town center, resort hotel, luxury condos, restaurants and lots more.
"We wanted development to center into one area - a town center development type of thing," said Dale Cooke, a former Dewey Beach commissioner.
"This was a major development and it got embroiled in politics and politics will, excuse the expression, screw everything up," said Cooke.
Mayor Diane Hanson says the initial agreement was changed.
"When we approved the agreement with DBE it was for one building and now their doing it in phases. I don't know what the significance of that might be," said Hanson.
Everyone isn't happy about the construction project. Hanson says people who've lived in Dewey Beach for years have already sold their properties. Others are thinking about doing the same.
"I've always been concerned about an ambulance getting down Route 1 on 4th of July weekend and that somebody could actually die because the ambulance couldn't get there on time. Now we're adding more traffic in a town where there's no way to widen the road," said Hanson.
Leaders at Saturday's meeting say phase one of this project is moving forward.
It's a five year project in the making.
