DOVER, DE- A long-vacant plot along Route 13 in Dover could soon get a new purpose as the proposed DuPont Plaza shopping center moves closer to reality.
The nearly 10-acre site, located between Tim Hortons and Citizens Bank, is one of the last undeveloped parcels along the busy retail corridor, but the shopping center could change that.
Dover city leaders approved a revised master plan for the development during a Planning Commission public hearing in January. The plan outlines multiple phases of construction, with developers now preparing to submit administrative site plans for each phase.
If approved, the complex would be anchored by a 22,183-square-foot Tractor Supply store. Three additional buildings are planned, including two retail spaces measuring 12,950 and 7,440 square feet and a 2,046-square-foot restaurant.
Dawn Mellson-Williams, with the city of Dover, said the project represents a major transformation for the long-empty plot and could attract significant retail activity.
"The first phase is the one with the identified tenant as Tractor Supply. There are three other retail buildings that are proposed with tenants yet to be named."
Dr. Dina Vendetti of the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce said the timing is ideal for the project, given the area’s growing population.
"With the influx of more people coming to the area, there needs to be more opportunities for people to shop- and places that are convenient where they can find what they need."
She added that the development’s four major retail buildings would create a shopping hub for residents and visitors, meeting the needs of hundreds of people who will soon be moving into nearby apartments.
"It's going to be shopping, it's going to be retail, and evidently in between where those apartments are. There's about over 200 apartments that are going in that spot between there and Highway 13."
Vendetti said a project of this size could deliver a much-needed economic boost to Dover and the surrounding region, creating jobs and generating revenue for Lower Delaware.
"The more economic development that we can motivate by some kind of a construction like that, and the more jobs we can create and the more revenue that comes in, the better off everyone is in the area."
City officials say the development represents the largest expansion of commercial space along the corridor in several years, a move they say is critical as central Delaware continues to grow.