Who Should Consider Semaglutide for Weight Loss?

The largest housing development in Hockessin in about 20 years is taking shape, with little opposition from residents or government agencies.

The support is mainly because of fears of what could have been built at the site, which is partly zoned industrial, said Mark Blake, president of the Greater Hockessin Area Development Association.

“This will help eliminate one of the troublesome zonings that we had right in the middle of Hockessin,” Blake said. “That was worrisome for a lot of the surrounding communities.”

Developer Blenheim Homes is proposing 106 townhomes, 26 twin homes and 15 single-family homes on about 59 acres on the east side of Valley Road, 850 feet south of Evanson Road, between Route 7 (Limestone Road) and Route 141 (Lancaster Pike).

However, 38 acres, or about 65% of the land, will be left as open space.

“The code requires them to protect at least half, but they are protecting more,” said Brad Shockley, a county planner.

County Councilwoman Janet Kilpatrick called the development request a “downzoning” because the land was a mix of industrial, commercial and residential zones. The site includes a construction business and garages leased to small businesses that are under contract to move if the project is approved. The land was also the site of an auction house and mushroom-growing facilities with housing for workers.

“I have only had one complaint from a resident who felt that the entire area should remain open,” Kilpatrick said.

Over the past four years, Blenheim representatives attended focus group meetings attended by 27 residents from nearby neighborhoods and other Hockessin communities and business owners. Blake said none of the group members opposed the plan.

More development news:With Wegmans open, here is the ultimate grocery store guide for New Castle County

Changing from mixed-use to all residential

The New Castle County planning board held a public hearing Nov. 1 on the request to rezone the industrial, commercial and residential properties to all residential, and the board is accepting written comments through the end of the month.

The planning board will vote on a recommendation, and then the rezoning request will be on the County Council agenda in January, Kilpatrick said. If approved, the next steps are the site plan and engineering plan.

Blake said most residents also favored the developer’s first plan, which included some shops, restaurants and apartments.

“It was going to give us a town center, and most people were looking forward to more stores and restaurants,” Blake said.

However, during the pandemic, getting commitments from business owners was difficult. So the developer changed the request to an all-residential plan.

One of the largest developments in Hockessin

At the planning board’s public hearing, Blake said Hockessin Station is the largest development plan in “probably the last 40 years,” since the Lantana Square shopping center, as far as bundling properties of different zonings and uses and turning them into one project.

For residential developments, he thinks it’s the largest in about 20 years since Hockessin Chase with about 150 homes. That plan was filed in 2001, with site work and construction continuing over several years.

More recent developments have been smaller “infill” plans with less than 20 homes, Blake said, until a recent plan was approved for Valley Grove with 53 homes, also by Blenheim on Valley Road.

More on real estate:Where are the million-dollar homes in Delaware? Turns out there are more than you think

Blake said favorable comments at the development association meetings about Hockessin Station included more open space than older neighborhoods, sidewalks, walking paths, green space dividing two sections of the neighborhood, and a separate entrance for each section so traffic will be spread out.

At the planning board hearing, traffic concerns were discussed for the portion of the neighborhood that contains the duplexes and townhomes – 132 units all using one entrance.

Ted Williams from Landmark Science and Engineering, which completed the traffic study, said the new development is projected to have 57 vehicles exiting and 17 entering during the peak morning rush hour and 33 leaving and 57 entering during the peak afternoon rush.

A stoplight is not in the plans, but left-turn lanes into the development are.

The Delaware Department of Transportation approved the study and said a stoplight wouldn’t be allowed because the increased traffic didn’t meet the requirements for a stoplight, Williams said.

After the meeting, Blake said, “Traffic concerns always come up with any development, but with a residential neighborhood, one thing we’ve seen, they produce less than a commercial development because not everyone comes and goes at once.”

Property features, home prices

Jack Hilaman, manager of Blenheim Management Co., said the architecture in Hockessin Station will be similar to homes under construction in Valley Grove across the street.

Prices of Hockessin Station will be determined when the homes are built, but the base price in Valley Grove starts at $439,000.

Hilaman said Hockessin Station will have a “park-like setting,” with the streams and wooded areas already on the property, and more trees and shrubs that will be planted as buffers between neighboring properties. Plans include walking trails and a central green of about 1.5 acres near the townhouses.

In the townhouse section, in addition to two parking spaces per home, the plan includes 56 guest parking spaces.

Kilpatrick said there are five older homes on the site, and one close to Valley Road will be preserved because the Historic Review Board has determined it has historic value.

“It will remain as part of the new development, with renovations consistent with historic standards,” she said.

Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate, housing and development news. Reach him at [email protected].

UPDATE: This story has been edited to adjust an incorrect address for the new cell towers. The Hockessin location will be 7259 Lancaster Pike.

If you're having trouble with reliable cell service where you live and travel in New Castle County, there may be a solution on the way.

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer on Monday announced they are accepting bids for cellular providers like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile to set up new cell towers in the county's "dead zones."

Meyer was joined by the county's chief of technology and administrative services, Michael Hojnicki, at the Hockessin Public Library on Monday afternoon to announce the sites of the new towers on county property.

Where will the new towers go

In February, New Castle County commissioned a third-party technology company to conduct a study to evaluate where in the county had the worst cellular reception. Most of these dead zones were focused around southern New Castle County, near Odessa and Townsend as well as rural parts of northern New Castle County like Centreville and Hockessin.

More:New Castle County agrees to pay $1.05M to settle lawsuit over fatal Lymond Moses shooting

The study finalized a list of five priority locations for new cell towers to be erected, and the final plan was narrowed down to three.

A mandatory pre-bid meeting was set to take place Thursday, Aug. 17, at noon with prospective bidders, and the proposals will be accepted until Sept. 6.

Cost of the project

The county will spend $1.3 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money on the project, but the final cost will be confirmed after a proposal has been chosen by the county government. County Executive Meyer also stated that there is an opportunity for New Castle County to earn revenue from these proposals to expand construction to other priority areas.

"If it ends up costing more than that, we'll look at finding more funds either from federal dollars or other sources," Meyer said. "I think it's more realistic that there's going to be revenue coming in attached to the tower that we can use to build more."

A public comment period will open up after the Sept. 6 deadline for cell tower proposals, but according to Hojnicki, this may not be for another estimated six months. The timeline for the permitting process and construction to begin is largely dependent on the details provided by cell service providers in their proposals.

Local U.S. and World Politics Weather Weather Alerts School Closings See It, Share It Sports Phillies Eagles Sixers Flyers NBC Sports Philadelphia Investigators NBC10 Responds Submit a tip Watch The Lineup Philly Live Entertainment Wawa Welcome America

About NBC10 Philadelphia Our News Standards Share a News Tip or Feedback Share a Consumer Complaint Share Photos and Video Community NBC Sports Philadelphia Our Apps Newsletters Contests Cozi TV

By Ken Mammarella Contributing Writer

From the sensitive reuse of old mill buildings to infrastructure upgrades, and from multiple improvements at Auburn Valley State Park to the surprising clear-cutting of a large tract on Yorklyn Road, big changes are coming to Yorklyn.

“There’s a lot of hope,” said Carol Ireland, a nearby resident who remembers when Yorklyn’s mills were running decades ago and when they were later damaged by flooding. That hope comes when considering comprehensive planning by the state for the park and Yorklyn’s adjacent “downtown.”

“This is a massive conservation effort by a number of organizations,” said Matt Ritter, administrator of the planning, preservation and development section of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, which runs the state parks.

Yorklyn’s roads meander their way along and over the Red Clay Creek, juxtaposed with railroad tracks. The mills that defined the area’s economy no longer produce lumber, flour, paper, snuff and vulcanized fiber, but their period architecture, with preserved space nearby, is drawing new businesses.

The most dramatic addition was the 2016 opening of Dew Point Brewing Co. In December 2020, Garrison’s Cyclery doubled its space when moving from Centreville to across from Dew Point.

“It’s a good community, very close-knit,” owner Rob Garrison said. “Yorklyn is starting to bubble. A lot of people, a lot of interest.”

62 townhomes planned

The Center for the Creative Arts for four decades has been helping to build, perhaps even create, a community. It’s housed in the old Yorklyn School, built in 1932.

“The school was originally a gathering place for the community, say for picnics,” said Melissa Paolercio, the center’s executive director. “We’re keeping up with that tradition with all types of people gathering, celebrating and learning.”

Yorklyn’s biggest gathering is the annual Yorklyn Day, and activities at the state park, live music at Dew Point and programming at the arts center draw people from Yorklyn and beyond.

DNREC in September presented an update of its plans, which date back to the 2008 donation of the parkland – and the world’s largest operating collection of Stanley steam cars – by the Marshall family.

A big point of contention at that meeting was Quarry Walk, a 12-acre site to the west that was clear-cut for 62 townhomes. It doesn’t look good now, but Ritter said DNREC’s goal is that landscaping will eventually make it blend in well. The quarry that gives the tract its name will be open to the public for fishing, and Ritter hopes for a trail to connect it to the main acreage of the state park.

Conservation and recreation

Shortly after it started thinking about the new state park, DNREC was tasked with leading the way on an 119-acre site, which for more than a century housed various types of mills, last occupied NVF, which had declared bankruptcy several times and finally closed.

“Several portions were set aside as conservation easements or were otherwise acquired by the state,” a meeting poster said, and several portions were marked for development.

Posters prepared for the meeting list more than a dozen highlights at the park, including the construction of a rentable pavilion at the Yorklyn Bridge parking area, the first deer-hunting season and the opening up of the Marshall Bros. paper mill, hastily abandoned, with time cards still in time slots. Tours promise “a rare look at an intact shuttered paper mill.”

There are plans to connect more of the open space, with the possibility of a dramatic bridge running 400 feet across road, creek and track to reach the eastern part of the state park, known as Oversee Farm. Most of the state’s land east of the railroad tracks will remain open space, Ritter said.

In 2016, when the state’s plans had their last five-year update, the state announced multiple “revitalization milestones.” They included several miles of trails for hikers, bicyclists, equestrians and vintage car enthusiasts.

Other improvements are critical but less noticeable. More than 200 tons of contaminated soil and building materials have been removed. Two wetlands have been created; Gun Club Road was shifted out of the floodplain; and other work was done to mitigate the damage of flooding, which NVF said was a major cause in its 2007 liquidation. Sandbags remain in front of some buildings to control water.

DNREC’s plans have evolved. For instance, plans for an amphitheater have been downsized, but it’s still comparable to the outdoor stages at White Clay and Bellevue state parks, Ritter said.

DNREC in 2016 said it was collaborating with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra on plans for the symphony to use the amphitheater as the symphony’s base for summer outdoor concerts and that the symphony would bring other artistic activities to the site.

J.C. Barker said he toured the site shortly after he started as the symphony’s executive director in May of 2020. Having the symphony perform outdoors in Yorklyn “is a terrific idea,” he said. “That falls in line with our strategic planning for outdoor concerts. It’s an exciting project, and we’re still interested in discussing and planning it.”

When asked about the symphony presenting other artists there, he said that question was the first that he had heard about that concept.

For arts’ sake

The arts center’s importance to the community was demonstrated in 2020, Paolercio said, after a violent August storm destroyed its parking lot. “There was a huge outpouring of support” to fix it, she said. “And that’s a huge testament to be part of this incredible community.”

That wasn’t the only problem in 2020. The pandemic forced the school to close for 15 weeks, and a few online classes were not enough to replace the camaraderie of in-person sessions.

When a full schedule resumed this fall, students enthusiastically returned. “We’ve rebounded,” she said. “We’re doing even better in participation. We’re really happy to create and make together again.”

The building includes an auditorium, seven classrooms, a kitchen and office space. The center has two full-time employees and, depending on the season, 15 to 20 teachers.

Paolercio, who starting running the center in 2019, is working on a plan to “sharpen our mission to serve all members of our community. Having quality artistic experiences is everyone’s right.” That’s why the center is exploring the needs and desires of differently abled artists, and it also wants to add classes in Spanish, a language of increasing importance in the Hockessin area and nearby stretches of Pennsylvania’s Chester County.

Yes, there will be development

To handle any development in Yorklyn’s core, the state is planning a second Yorklyn pumping station and other work to increase sewage capacity. The state is also working to construct a cell tower on the hill across Creek Road from the Marshall mansion, to cure the valley’s iffy reception.

A recent informal exploration showed a fair amount of construction equipment and material scattered among the old mill buildings. But it’s unclear how commercial development will progress. Several current business did not want to talk. Other businesses that have been touted in past news releases in articles didn’t talk, either. Adding to the uncertainty is an April arson fire that destroyed much of the Mill One complex.

A sign for an “Auburn Village” promises luxury apartments and 12,000 square feet of retail “coming soon,” but it’s unsaid how soon or what is involved. The sign matches up with Yorklyn.org, where the most recent map dates to 2017. Requests for comment were not returned.

The state’s 2016 announcement referred to townhomes on the old mill site that do not exist.

Dew Point founder John Hoffman looks forward to smart growth that preserves Yorklyn’s historic charm and natural beauty. Dew Point often hosts food trucks, and he’s talked up the idea of a nearby restaurant without success. “We would love a niche restaurant, something you can’t find somewhere else,” he said.

Noted Wilmington restaurateur Dan Butler said in November that the idea is “still alive” of what the state in 2016 called a “destination restaurant” from him. Butler said that several concepts have been considered and that “the developer is still waiting for everything to come into place.”

Hoffman is patient. “These things always take a long time to coalesce,” he said of Yorklyn’s growth. “One or two moves, and it will happen. The beauty and historic feel will be the key.”

A Hockessin brunch cafe has closed after an owner in the business was injured in a recent car accident, just months after a separate crash sidelined another partner.

Brunch and More, which operated for a little less than a year in a shop on Old Lancaster Pike, has ceased operations, according to social media posts from co-owner Shannon Kokoszka.

In the post, Kokoszka wrote she and business co-owner Linda Mele have dissolved their partnership after Mele was injured in a recent car accident sometime after Nov. 30.

Details of the accident and Mele's condition were not immediately known.

Kokoszka, the shop's head chef who was seriously injured in a May 12 car accident, had just recently returned to work at the cash register.

Restaurant woes:Hockessin cafe owner keeps dream going after partner injured in a serious car accident

"Unfortunately, we are dissolving our partnership because it has now become too much, with both of us injured, to continue," Kokoszka wrote.

The women, friends for more than 20 years, took over the former Nal restaurant site in Hockessin at 1304 Old Lancaster Pike. They turned it into a five-table operation called Brunch and More.

It opened on Dec. 31, 2020, but the partners had to shut down shortly after due to exposure to coronavirus. The partners reopened at the end of January and began gaining a group of regulars and were booking catering events.

Kokoszka, serving as head chef, gathered recipes she had been using for years. She cooked everything from muffins to crunchy eggroll pastries stuffed with sweet and savory fillings to chicken marsala with fresh pasta, sautéed garlic and green beans.

Mele, who spent 30 years in property management in Wilmington, handled the business end.

She said the shop was just starting to pick up steam when tragedy struck a few months after opening.

After leaving the cafe, Kokoszka was involved in a serious head-on car accident on May 12 on Route 41 (Newport Gap Pike) at Graves Road.

Kokoszka said the accident left her "unable to walk or even stand. After a hospitalization stay of nearly a month, I went home wheelchair-bound." She said she has been doing physical therapy for months.

More:Don't want to stand at the stove all day? These local restaurants are open for Christmas

During her recovery, Mele, along with family and friends, took over the entire operation.

In a June interview with Delaware Online/The News Journal, Mele said after Kokoszka's accident, the business took a different direction than she and Kokoszka imagined.

"We're trying to be optimistic. This is so hard on Shannon. This is like her newborn baby," Mele said. "But we got some great family and we're going to keep it going."

Kokoszka wrote that she and Mele "feel that we are so lucky to have been partners and remain good friends."

And, she wrote, that once she is healed, "I will be back, Brunch And More is not over. I look forward to serving the community again with my recipes."

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or [email protected] and on Twitter @pattytalorico