Milton Royal Farms still awaiting approvals

Royal Farms’ slogan may be “real fresh, real fast,” but speed has not been of the essence in building its latest gas station and convenience store in Milton. 

Six months after getting the final go-ahead from Milton Town Council to move forward with plans to build a Royal Farms at the corner of Route 16 and Union Street Extended, the company’s new location is awaiting approval from Delaware Department of Transportation on traffic improvements as part of the project. 

Charles “C.R.” McLeod, spokesman for DelDOT, said plans for the entrance and improvements at the Route 16 and Union Street Extended intersection have been submitted and are under review. 

Royal Farms had been planning to break ground on the 4,700-square-foot convenience store, with 5,100 square feet for gas pumps, in the summer. Final site plans had been approved by the Milton Planning and Zoning Commission in May, then approved by council in June.  

The 2-acre parcel for the Royal Farms was part of a greater 7-plus-acre parcel that was annexed into Milton in December 2020, then partitioned in July 2021. Planning and zoning officials approved a special-use permit and a preliminary site plan for the project in October 2021, and Royal Farms asked for and received an extension of those approvals in October 2022. 

Much of the delay in the project, then and now, is related to plans for traffic improvements at Route 16 and Union Street Extended, which would include turn lanes, reconfiguring the traffic signal and pedestrian walkways. Royal Farms will have entrances off Route 16 and off Cedar Creek Road at the rear of the property. Access to the property would come from new left-turn lanes from Route 16 onto Route 5 in both directions, a right-turn lane onto Route 16, and better pedestrian access across Route 16 and Route 5. 

Royal Farms officials have said the intention is to have a phased approach to installing the intersection improvements that would be coordinated with DelDOT.