674 more houses are proposed north of Middletown

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🏘674 more houses are proposed north of Middletown

Stop us if you've heard this one: Hundreds more houses may arrive north of Middletown.

Ocean Atlantic Companies, headed by Rehoboth Beach's Christopher Schell, plans a 674-house development called Monarch at 540 Ratledge Road just southwest of Whitehall. The land, owned by multiple legal entities associated with Schell, was originally planned as part of the Whitehall planned village community. Real estate attorney Shawn Tucker presented the plans new New Castle County Council at the Land Use Committee meeting Tuesday.

The 546-acre plot straddles Ratledge Road, vordering Crystal Run on the south and with northern boundary at Lorewood Grove Road. The land had already been approved for more than 1800 residences as part of the Whitehall plan more than a decade ago, according to Tucker and county records.

But though approved, those plans had a problem, Tucker told the Land Use Committee. They called for "rear-loading homes" his client believes are no longer favored by house buyers, he said..

So what's a rear-loading home? It's a home with a garage accessed through an alley behind the home rather than by the front entrance — an innovation that allows more homes to be packed into a narrower space. But according to Tucker, his client believes that such homes are more difficult to sell in the current market.

"I know some folks are selling it," Tucker said. "I can tell you, I've talked to other folks besides my client who are reluctant to get into that market and have concerns. Others are not reluctant at all."

Councilman David Carter said he understood these concerns, saying he'd gotten "an earful" from constituents with rear-loading lots in Whitehall and Brighton, because of trash trucks and others cutting through behind their houses.

The new plans for the Monarch development have been winding their way toward land-use approval since 2020, when development was delayed by the COVID pandemic, Tucker said.

These plans call for significantly less density, appearing to abandon the "walkable" community vision laid out by Whitehall's developers more than a decade back, in favor of housing density of less than one home an acre, when accounting for more than 300 acres of open space and stormwater drainage.

All homes would be detached, single family homes. No homes would be age-restricted or designated as affordable housing, Tucker said in response to questions from council.

In that land use meeting, Councilwoman and Land Use co-chair Janet Kilpatrick cautioned that the developer would do well to look into some traffic calming measures, lest they 'hear a lot about it" later. The developer would pay about $800,000 in impact fees and $6 million in school assessments, Tucker told council.

The plans are due to be considered by New Castle County Council at the next meeting on July 9.

⚖National litigation firm Akerman announces Wilmington office

Yet another of the country's largest law firms has set up shop in Wilmington, one of the densest maelstroms of corporate law in the country.

Law firm Akerman LLP announced Monday they'd opened an office focused on litigation, intellectual property and bankruptcy law at the PNC Bank Tower at 222 Delaware Ave., one of Wilmington's tallest buildings. The office will be Akerman's 25th in the country. The century-old Akerman, with its biggest headquarters in New York, is one of the most expansive law firms in the country, with more than 700 lawyers.

In a press release announcing their new office, Akerman hailed Wilmington as the “Corporate Capital of the World,” writing that Delaware has "long been the destination of choice for incorporating businesses and litigating complex disputes, including corporate governance, bankruptcy, and intellectual property matters. "

Aw, we're blushing.

In any case, the firm's litigation partners will be Andrew Dupre and Brian Lemon. As befits Delaware-based council, Dupre's most prominent recent case involved successfully suing Tesla and Elon Musk last year over excessive compensation paid to Tesla's board members — resulting in a $735 million settlement deal. Lemon, a former research scientist for the U.S. Navy, seems to prevail in wildly technical cases involving science-y things like micro-needle dermatological treatment device patents“Establishing a presence in Delaware is a natural extension of our client-driven growth strategy. We have seen a significant uptick in client demand for boots on the ground in the Delaware courts, and an Akerman presence allows us to meet those needs with the seamless quality and deep experience that we deliver to our clients everywhere,” wrote Akerman Chairman and CEO Scott Meyers in a statement: