On Tuesday, the council delayed a vote for at least six weeks on whether to rezone the land slated to become home to a Costco, Target and Whole Foods, as part of the Atlantic Fields shopping center.
Rezoning the land would clear the way for the project to be built.
The decision to delay a potential approval followed a five-hour public hearing that included testimony from the developer’s attorney who pleaded with the council to remember that a rezoning application is “not a popularity contest,” nor “a political decision.”
Over a dozen residents also made comments to the council, with all but one opposing the project, citing the increased road traffic it could bring.
“If built, our traffic increase will be felt immediately, and we will regret the day these doors open,” Sussex Preservation Coalition President Jill Hicks said.
Political signs have appeared on Lewes/Rehoboth-area lawns urging the Sussex County Council to reject a zoning change that would accommodate a shopping center. | PHOTO COURTESY OF GARY VORSHEIMDuring the hearing, one councilman appeared to support the project. Two appeared to be against it, and one appeared to have mixed feelings.
While it remains unclear how the council members ultimately will vote, their counterparts at the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission recommended through a 4-1 vote last week that the County Council approve the rezoning request.
The County Council does not have to follow the commission’s recommendations, but its endorsement is often a key consideration in rezoning decisions.
The shopping center — dubbed Atlantic Fields by its Baltimore-based developer, Southside Investment Partners — would include 665,000 square feet of retail space, making it about half the size of the Christiana Mall. It would be located about 5 miles from Delaware’s beaches and a mile southwest of Route 1.
‘If not here, where?’
During the meeting, Councilman Matt Lloyd expressed support for Atlantic Fields because of the estimated 1,700 full-time jobs it would create. He also questioned many nearby residents’ assertion that the shopping center should be built somewhere else.
Councilman Matt Lloyd expressed support for the Atlantic Fields shopping center during an October 2025 meeting of the Sussex County Council. | SPOTLIGHT DELAWARE PHOTO BY OLIVIA MARBLE“If not here, where?” Lloyd said.
But Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum said the jobs Atlantic Fields would create are too low-paying for an area that is already struggling to provide affordable housing for its workers.
For example, Costco pays its employees a minimum wage of $20 an hour, according to Reader’s Digest. The wage is equivalent to about $42,000 a year — less than half of the median income of the area.
Councilman Steve McCarron said the project would be “much easier to support” if it had affordable housing as part of the proposal.
In response, James Fuqua, an attorney for Southside Investment Partners, said housing is not part of the plan currently being presented.
“If I could go back in a time machine I might suggest that they might like to see that, but it’s not what we’ve got before you,” Fuqua said.
McCarron also said he “agreed” with Lloyd but didn’t specify how. He declined to further comment on the project after the meeting, saying council members cannot discuss their opinions before the record is closed.
Lewes-area residents listen skeptically during an October 2025 meeting of the Sussex County Council. | SPOTLIGHT DELAWARE PHOTO BY OLIVIA MARBLECouncil Vice President John Rieley said he is concerned about the Delaware Department of Transportation’s ability to keep up with the growing traffic demands that could affect the whole region because of this shopping center. Unlike New Castle County, Sussex County does not maintain its own roads, leaving maintenance and road improvements to the state.
“Costco is such a popular brand that we might pull people from quite a distance,” Rieley said. “It might create a magnet that would be really hard to measure, how much traffic could come in.”
Council President Douglas Hudson did not ask questions or comment on the plan.
The council will now have two weeks to submit additional questions to state agencies about the project. Those agencies will have another two weeks to respond, then the public can comment on those responses for another two weeks.
The next time the council could consider the issue is during its Dec. 2 meeting.
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