Rezoning approved by New Castle County Council Tuesday paves the way for a warehouse and distribution center planned along Rt. 7 in the Delaware City area.
Most of the parcel is designated Heavy Industrial — but 51 acres along the highway were Commercial Regional. Council approved the county land use department’s recommendation to make it all Heavy Industrial— which the developer says allows for high enough density to make the project viable.
Christian Evangelista, vice president of NorthPoint Development, says the zoning allows for construction of a bigger building, which will mean more jobs. “This will turn out to be about 1,300 to 1,500 jobs for 2 million square feet.”
Although the rezoning passed unanimously, several council members raised concerns about potentially dangerous uses the Heavy Industrial zoning might allow at the site in the future.
Councilman Jea Street declined to vote. “What’s the guarantee that once they get Heavy Industry, whatever they’re promising today, they’re not allowed to change to something else later on?” he said.
Councilman Penrose Hollins supported the rezoning, but expressed reservations. “I know there's very little HI [Heavy Industrial] in this county, so there’s a need,” he said. “But when it's in the proximity of residential, I think that’s a real concern. And what happens ten years from now or five years from now, is a different story. And then we can’t do anything about it.”
Just on the other side of Rt. 1 from the site is Wilbur Elementary School and residential-zoned land.
Officials from NorthPoint say they hope to break ground on the project this year.
The parcel is in the Coastal Zone, east of the Delaware City Refinery and adjacent to the recently shuttered Formosa Plastics, an EPA superfund site.
