Preliminary plans approved for Milton Village

The first phase of a residential-commercial complex west of Milton has been granted preliminary approval by the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission.

At its Oct. 13 meeting, the commission voted 5-0 to approve the preliminary plan for Milton Village Apartments, including 296 apartments in a 10-building complex on 21 acres near the intersection of Gravel Hill Road and Route 16. It's the first phase of a project that includes another 400 residential units and a commercial/office area on a 138-acre parcel.

Plans include eight buildings with 24 units each and two buildings with 52 units each, a 6,000-square-foot clubhouse and pool, parking, sidewalks, 20 acres of open space, bike paths, landscaping, 60 garages and connection to a multimodal path along Gravel Hill Road.

The apartment complex – with access from Gravel Hill Road – will be located in the middle of the parcel with commercial and office space planned along Route 16, and a mixture of additional housing units south of the apartments. Connection to Route 16 would eventually be provided with a central street and roundabout.

Central water and sewer will be provided by Artesian Utilities.

Sussex County Planning & Zoning Director Jamie Whitehouse said the developer will have to file additional site plans and/or applications for the remainder of the project, which has been reviewed by the Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination.

Developer Venture LLC of Wilmington must comply with federal and state regulations to protect an active bald eagle nest on the property. Among the regulations is a buffer from at least 330 feet up to 660 feet around the tree with the nest. Some time restrictions to building in the area near the nest may also be required.

During the review of the site plan, commissioners requested that the final plan show a covered bicycle rack area, dimensions of the pool and a connection from the community to the multimodal path.

The final plan is subject to review and approval by the commission.

The project is one of four planned or underway in the Milton area.

The Granary at Draper Farm, located along Sand Hill Road, is awaiting Milton Town Council approval. The plans include 1,350 housing units with 60,000 square feet of commercial space on a 450-acre parcel. The proposed site plan includes 55 acres of parkland, biking and hiking trails, a working granary and a tunnel under Sand Hill Road for a future trail connection.

Site work is underway on Cypress Grove with 240 residential units and five acres of commercial space on a 26-acre parcel along Route 16 and Country Road.

The Granary and Cypress Grove have been annexed into town limits. Another residential project, Scarlet Oaks, with 163 residential units along Harbeson Road across from Mariner Middle School, is also planned.