60-room hotel proposed for former Dolle’s site

Four months ago, it was revealed a new hotel on the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk property comprising Grotto Pizza and the former Dolle’s Candyland was planned. At a commissioner meeting, officials were told plans were going to be submitted to the city in the near future.

Those plans are in, and the Rehoboth Beach Planning Commission is set to conduct a concept review Monday, Nov. 14, on a 42-foot tall structure that has four floors, a total floor area of 58,300 square feet and floor-to-area ratio of 2.76, which is more than the city’s maximum FAR of 2. There are 61 underground parking spaces in the plan.

In a letter requesting the review, Rehoboth-based attorney Vincent Robertson said his client, One Rehoboth Avenue LLC, wants to redevelop the location with an upscale, mixed-use project that has 60 rooms and ground-level retail, with a pedestrian-friendly, open-air design.

“This will be a vast improvement over the flat-roofed concrete, wood-framed and stucco buildings that currently exist on the site,” said Robertson.

The LLC is a partnership between Grotto Pizza and Onix Group, a real estate developer from Kennett Square, Pa. The company has a number of projects in Sussex County, including the Rehoboth Medical Arts Center on Route 24 outside Rehoboth, and the Veterans Administration Outpatient Center, Sun Behavioral Health and College Park developments in Georgetown. It also operates several developments in Dover.

The property comprises more than the Grotto Pizza and former Dolle’s sites; it also includes the Sirocco hotel area and the area of Kohr Bros. ice cream.

The meeting is scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. in the commissioners room of city hall, 229 Rehoboth Ave.