With the old Troop 7 gone from Coastal Highway in Lewes, what's going there?

The highly visible former site of Delaware State Police Troop 7 on Coastal Highway in Lewes is a valuable piece of real estate in the state's fastest-growing region. Now that the building is gone, what's going there?

Long-term plans haven't been decided yet, Delaware Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director Courtney Stewart said, but temporarily, the property will likely house a Department of Transportation salt barn.

Troop 7 was founded as a homebase for police patrolling the Delaware beaches in 1970. Back then, it was a small building on the Forgotten Mile, between Rehoboth and Dewey beaches. By 1983, the troop had expanded enough to necessitate the need to move to a bigger building on Coastal Highway in Lewes.

Junebugs, Biden and the heat: This weekend's guide to the Delaware beaches

About 35 years later, in 2019, the troop moved again, this time to a new, state-of-the-art building on Mulberry Knoll Road, outside Lewes, leaving the Coastal Highway building empty. The building was then used as a Code Purple shelter in the winter for a few years.

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: With the old Troop 7 gone from Coastal Highway in Lewes, what's going there?