The Battle of Barley Mill is Tonight.
The New Castle County Council is scheduled to vote tonight whether to rezone 40 percent of the Barley Mill Plaza office complex to allow for a 1.6 million square foot commercial complex that will include a 450,000-square-foot shopping center. This rezoning is a compromise plan and is necessary to prevent an even larger mixed use complex from being built on the former duPont complex by Pam Scott’s Stoltz Real Estate Partners. The complex would be located at the intersection of Route 141 and 48 near Greenville.
Wait, how is this a compromise plan? Well, Stotz originally wanted to build a 2.8 million square foot mixed use complex that would include a shopping center, office space and residential condominiums. Since the old office park is already zoned for mixed use, Stotz would not have to seek the County Council’s approval for a rezoning. For some perspective, a 2.8 million square foot plan is as large as the King of Prussia Mall.
So Stotz is basically holding a gun to the County Council’s head. Improve our plans to build another unnecessary development, or we will be build an even larger and unnecessary monstrosity.
Many of the opponents of any development on the old Barley Mill site believe it will turn 141 in this area into a commercial corridor like Kirkwood Highway or Concord Pike. Indeed, the Planning Board says the development should be rejected as out of character with the surrounding community. But opponents to both plans seem to be sh*t of luck. New Castle County County President and future failed congressional candidate Tom Kovach says he will vote for the compromise development because to do otherwise will harm the community.
But will it? Many think the plans to build a larger complex are all a bluff, and Kovach fell hook line and sinker for it:
Save Our County members said Stoltz never wanted to build the larger plan in the first place.
“Stoltz set up a horror story that he never intended to build,” McEvilly said. “All anyone has to do is look at the road structure at Barley Mill and compare it to the roads around the King of Prussia or Christiana malls and they’ll realize that a 2.8 million-square-feet project isn’t feasible.”
If you want to go and try to speak your mind, the meeting will begin at 7 p.m. tonight at the Louis L. Redding City-County Building, Eighth and French streets, Wilmington. The council chambers is on the first floor.
What happens to the other 60%? Can we assume that can still be developed into a mega mall at some point in the future?
I am sure the developers really want to build a 2.8 million sq. ft. mall in this current economic climate. Not.
Do they have the necessary loans lined up to pay for the construction? Apparently, the loans aren’t really out there for this type of development.
The proper response to Stoltz: “Go ahead.” If they thought they could profitably develop the land under existing zoning, they wouldn’t be asking for a change.
I’ve seen the maximum-buildout plan they use in their scare presentation: Because of height restrictions, it’s a bunch of buildings about the size of the current ones on the site, except they line every surface cheek-by-jowl with each other. It would make Pettinaro’s nearby apartment complex look like Paris in comparison. In other words, entirely unrentable and, therefore, unbuildable.
In short, it’s a bluff. Call it.
The maximum buildout also assumes that they can get the kind of tenants compatible with that kind of development. If you look at it, a good number of the kinds of stores that occupy KoP Mall are the kinds of stores with precise models for location. I understand it was tough to get Nordstrom to Christiana Mall and that one is a small store for them.
I’d call their bluff, but doubt that there is either enough smarts or cojones on the NCC Council to do it.
With Wilmington Trust out of the “blowing money on loans that will never ever ever be paid back” business, I wonder who would lend money for a 2.8 million-square-feet project?
I posted a few youtube links of the private, literally closed-door meetings, lobbying and side bars going on last night.
Janet Kilpatrick attempted to push through an oral amendment cherry-picking certain parts of the private deed restrictions to be placed on the plan. Totally illegal according to FOIA. The protest was LOUD. She finally tabled it. Rumors were flying all around that Coons had lobbied hard during the day to influence votes in favor and had gotten Cartier to change his mind. How much Stoltz money do the pols get? LOTS.
Dave Carter put some of the precious moments on youtube –he says feel free to publish them!
http://delawareway.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-castle-county-council-and-stoltz.html