DOVER, Del.- A lawyer representing the owners of the Dover Mall says that a major retail expansion could occur at the mall if a project to construct a new connector road is fast-tracked for design and construction.
John Paradee, a lawyer with Baird Mandalas & Brockstedt, said the project would create a collector-distributor road from Scarborough Road that would run parallel with Route 1. He said it is currently slated to not even begin construction until the next decade, but could be conducted much faster using a public-private initiative and tax increment financing, two methods that would need legislative approval.
The partnership would allow the mall to design the roadway before turning it over to DelDOT after its completion. Paradee said $.50 toll booths would help pay for the $31 million project and may cover the cost of constructing the new roadway. The new access point could lead to the construction of a so-called "Power Center" involving new stores and retail options on the mall property.
"We've been in active dialogue with many retail businesses who say that if we can build this road at an accelerated pace that they would be very interested in coming to Dover," he said.
James Waddington with the Kent County Economic Development Office said keeping the Dover Mall viable is just one part of a healthy economy in Kent County and the Dover area.
"If you aren't doing the first two (parts)--retaining and expanding--you probably are going to be very successful at the third, which is attracting new business," he said.
