REHOBOTH BEACH, DE -- Demolition at the One Rehoboth site has been permitted to continue through June 13th, according to city leaders. The demolition was originally supposed to wrap up by May 15th, in alignment with the city's annual demolition moratorium.
The demolition site is located where the former Grotto's Pizza and Sirocco Motel sit along the boardwalk and Baltimore Avenue. When WBOC visited the site Monday, both buildings were still partially intact.
City officials said the roughly one-month extension is due to safety concerns with the Sirocco Motel. The structural integrity of the motel is reportedly compromised and unsteady.
The entire Sirocco Motel building is now expected to be dismantled by hand, a process that is expected to take around 4 weeks according to city officials. Initially, only the top floor of the motel was expected to be dismantled by hand.
"The building in its current state represents a clear safety concern," City Manager Taylour Tedder said in a statement Monday. "It doesn't appear to us that the building in its current condition can remain standing safely through the summer season. For this reason, Mayor Mills and I have granted permission for the developer to continue working as safely and expeditiously as possible."
Mark Blattel, a salesperson at the Rehoboth Toy and Kite Company along the boardwalk, told WBOC he worries how the extension could impact the start of the summer season.
"It could interfere with business," Blattel said. "A lot of people find us by walking down the boardwalk. After they see something like that, the construction, the barriers, they could just turn around and go away. They could end up avoiding this entire North end itself, which would be a shame."
Bronie Zolper agreed that it could deter some tourists.
"If I were paying $500 for a hotel room on this block, I might think twice before coming right now," Zolper said. "I might just want to wait until after they stop working."
However, Zolper said she thinks finishing everything up now is important for safety reasons.
"You could have a bad summer storm with a lot of wind, say up to 60 miles per hour, and it would blow debris all over the place," Zolper said.
City officials said demolition will take place from 8 am to 7 pm on weekdays only, except for Saturday, May 31st. Demolition will also be paused from May 22nd through May 26th in light of Memorial Day Weekend, according to city leaders.