The Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles cut the ribbon on its brand new 42,000 square foot DMV facility Monday. Located on Route 13 south just north of the St. Georges bridge near Delaware City, the complex opens its doors to the public Tuesday.
[caption id="attachment_63435" align="alignright" width="300"]
The 24-acre flagship location will serve the growing Middletown and Bear population, expecting to handle over 30,000 customers from mid to southern New Castle County each month.
Contractors broke ground on the site last June, designing the complex to achieve Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification by incorporating energy efficient and environment-friendly practices and materials.
DelDOT secretary Shailen Bhatt says he is pleased to see the project come together quickly, offering customers an upgrade to the outdated Airport Road DMV in New Castle, which had been in use since 1965.
“It’s great to bring a project in on time and on budget, and I think - just technologically - this is going to be light years ahead of what we had over there," Bhatt said. "The customer experience is just going to be revolutionized.”
At a cost of $20 million, the complex also hosts a seven-bay inspection lane, four drive-thru teller windows, 30 counter spots and 375 parking spaces. Inside, customers will be welcomed by a virtual greeter, and can take advantage of the many self-serve kiosks to quickly conduct their business.
DMV Director Jennifer Cohan says the new building comes as the agency has made policy changes over the last several years that emphasize a high quality of service to DMV customers.
“You can’t teach those customer service skills; either you can work with the public well and you enjoy it or you don’t," Cohan said. "So we changed our hiring strategy a little bit and we’ve got some very dedicated and hard-working employees who love working and serving the customers.”
Cohan also expects drivers from southern New Castle County take advantage of the convenience of the new site rather than make the trip to the DMV in Dover, and its proximity to several population centers will ikely result in additional customers.
"This facility is twice the size of [the Airport Road location],"Cohan adds. "Every station is outfitted to handle both vehicle and driver services. We really want the customer experience to be as positive as possible here, and we're looking forward to serving the public [Tuesday] morning."
[caption id="attachment_63438" align="alignright" width="300"]
Visitors entering the building will also be treated to an array of terra cotta art deco tiles depicting early automotive symbols and tools. The tiles - made in 1949 - have been in storage since 2003 when they were removed from a Delaware Oldsmobile the showroom in Wilmington that closed its doors.
"It was a very nice touch to the facility," Cohan said. "Its a piece of Delaware history that now our customers can enjoy."
