The national brands and growing developments taking root in Delaware in 2020 and beyond

Brandon Holveck | Delaware News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption A look at the development projects Delaware Online/The News Journal is tracking entering 2020 Join Delaware Online/The News Journal's What's Going There Facebook group for more routine updates on Delaware's latest development projects.

From the redevelopment of the 55-year-old Prices Corner shopping center to a new mixed-use development at the College Square in Newark, many projects are in the works throughout Delaware.

Here's a look at some of those Delaware Online/The News Journal is following entering 2020.

Before we dive in, a plug. Those interested in following the comings and goings of local business may want to join Delaware Online's Facebook group What's Going There in Delaware. The group is designed to spotlight and look into development throughout the state.

These are the Delaware stores and businesses that opened in 2019

Delaware restaurants that opened and closed in 2019

These are the Delaware stores and businesses that closed in 2019

Avenue North

Projected end date: unknown

Local developer Delle Donne & Associates is planning a 335-apartment development to accompany a hotel, fitness center and retail complex at the Fairfax campus once occupied entirely by AstraZeneca on Concord Pike. The build-out is expected to take about a decade.

Chipotle

Projected opening: unknown

A Chipotle will take the place of the former La Tolteca in the Fairfax shopping center on Concord Pike. It's the company's ninth location in Delaware and its seventh in New Castle County. Chipotle did not respond when asked when the store will open.

College Square shopping center

Projected end date: unknown

Demolition at the College Square shopping center off Library Avenue began in late August. The shopping center will be transformed into a walkable mixed-use community with shops, restaurants and more than 300 apartments.

Tenants for the renovated shopping center have not been announced.

Dickinson apartments and townhomes

Projected opening: not set

A Pennsylvania developer will build 45 apartments and 46 townhomes targeted at students in place of the closed University of Delaware Dickinson dormitories in Newark. The developer has not set a timetable for demolition or construction. The residences are not expected to be ready for next school year.

DOT Foods redistribution center

Projected opening: early 2020

The nation's largest food redistributor is building a distribution center on what was farmland near Red Lion and Wrangle Hill roads. It will take up almost 200,000 square feet and employ about 200 people.

New Castle County approved a five-year tax incentive deal worth up to $150,000 earlier this month. DOT Foods will also receive more than $1 million in grant funds.

The facility is expected to cost close to $40 million.

Dunkin'

Projected openings: unknown

As part of a plan to construct four buildings with retail and office space in Dover along Del. 8, Dunkin' is moving from its current location at 1230 Forrest Ave. to 1128 Forrest Ave. No other tenants have been announced.

A combined Dunkin'/Baskin Robbins is slated to take the place of a former title loan company in Dover along U.S. 13.

Fairfield Inn & Suites Middletown

Projected opening: 2021

The 89-room hotel will be at Merrimac Avenue and Middletown-Warwick Road, the city's central thoroughfare that leads to the newly constructed U.S. 301 mainline. Construction on the hotel, which will be Middletown's third, is expected to begin in 2020, with an opening scheduled for 2021.

Homewood Suites at Delaware Park

Projected opening: early 2021

Plans have been approved for a 133-room, four-story Homewood Suites just inside Delaware Park's entrance off Ogletown Stanton and Churchmans Roads near Stanton.

Hotels near the beach

Nearly a dozen hotels are in the works near the Delaware beaches, adding to southern Delaware's building boom. The hotels closest to opening are the Home 2 Suites by Hilton in Lewes (opening planned for April), the Atlantic Crown Hotel & Suites in Rehoboth Beach (summer 2020) and the Hilton on Coastal Highway on Fenwick Island (summer 2020).

Hyatt Hotel Newark

Projected opening: fall 2020

A seven-story Hyatt hotel, incorporating part of the historic Green Mansion's facade, is under construction on Newark's Main Street following a controversial approval process. The hotel is slated to open in fall 2020.

Incyte

Projected end date: late 2021 or early 2022

The Wilmington-area pharmaceutical company's expansion will add almost 200,000 square feet of office and lab space to its Augustine Cut-Off headquarters. A new building and parking garage will take the place of a radiation center, an auto body shop and a medical plaza with doctors offices all west of the company's existing headquarters.

About 3 ½ stories of the expansion will be dedicated to laboratories and 2 ½ stories will be office space. The stated goal of the expansion is to bring all the company's roughly 700 employees to the one campus.

Incyte is also in the process of purchasing Wilmington Friends' Lower Campus for $50 million. Sitting directly behind Incyte's existing buildings, the school's 20 acres represent one of the last places the company could expand its headquarters at the campus.

KFC/Taco Bell in Wilmington

Projected opening: early 2020

The KFC/Taco Bell on Lancaster Avenue in Wilmington is being rebuilt about a year after it caught fire. It is expected to open in the first quarter of 2020.

Lidl

Projected openings: unknown

The German grocery store chain is developing a site near Bear at Pulaski Highway and Salem Church Road. Lidl has also filed plans for a store in Dover on U.S. 13 between Kings Highway and Maple Parkway. The company has not shared information regarding the expected openings of either site.

LongHorn Steakhouse

Projected opening: spring 2020

A LongHorn Steakhouse is expected to take the place of the former Romano's Macaroni Grill on Concord Pike in Talleyville. A new building will be constructed at the site for LongHorn. It is expected to be completed in spring 2020.

Middletown library

Projected opening: 2022

A $24 million library on Main Street (Del. 299) in Middletown will feature a rain garden, a media room and a collaborative workspace. It will be one of the largest libraries in Delaware and is being touted as one of New Castle County's most environmentally friendly buildings.

Construction is expected to begin in the spring or summer of 2020. The library is slated to open in 2022.

Newark stormwater facility and park

Projected opening: Nov. 2020

A state-of-the-art stormwater facility designed to maintain clean water and lessen flooding in Newark will take the place of the UD Rodney dormitories along Hillside Road. The roughly $9 million project, which also includes a park built around the stormwater facility, is scheduled to be finished in Nov. 2020. Demolition of the dorms began in September.

Panera Bread

Projected opening: unknown

Middletown Council approved a plan for a Panera Bread in November. It will take the place of the former KFC at 584 Middletown-Warwick Rd. Panera Bread did not respond when asked when the restaurant is slated to open.

Prices Corner shopping center

Projected end date: unknown

A redevelopment is planned for the Prices Corner shopping center off Kirkwood Highway. The project includes new stores and restaurants as well as a new look for the center. The anchor tenant will be Target and plans have been filed for a drive-thru restaurant and a bank in place of the former Sears Auto Center.

The shopping center's management team declined to comment on future building projects.

Produce Junction

Projected opening: unknown

Produce Junction, a store specializing solely in produce, will take the place of the Thrift Center in a small strip center along W. Newport Pike. The thrift store is moving to the other end of the strip, under the name Thrifty's Delaware Family Thrift Store.

It will be the second Produce Junction in Delaware, joining a Dover location that opened about four years ago. Company officials did not respond when asked about construction progress.

Southfields of Elkton

Projected end date: unknown

Just over the border in Elkton, Maryland, a $700 million mixed-use project was announced in early August.

An industrial park spanning 2 million to 3 million square feet and including 1,000 homes, an apartment complex, commercial retail and a 50-acre sports complex could someday sit on 650 acres of wooded area and farmland at Md. 213 and Frenchtown Road near U.S. 40.

Timelines for construction have not been announced.

Sprouts Farmers Market

Opening March 11

The farm-fresh grocer will open its first Delaware location March 11. Sprouts is taking the place of Barnes and Noble next to the Concord Mall on Concord Pike.

Similar to other natural food competitors, Sprouts does not sell familiar snack and drink brands, instead offering organic options that are difficult to find in a traditional grocery store.

Starbucks

Projected opening: early 2020

A Starbucks with a drive-thru is expected to open shortly after the new year on Kirkwood Highway. The standalone building will replace the existing Starbucks at the end of a small shopping strip near the corner of Kirkwood Highway (Del. 2) and Farrand Drive.

Plans have also been filed with New Castle County for a drive-thru Starbucks at 1700 Marsh Rd. Starbucks did not respond when asked about the status of the project.

Target

Projected opening: unknown

Target will be the new anchor of the Prices Corner shopping center off Kirkwood Highway. It's only the second anchor in the history of the 50-plus-year-old shopping hub, following Sears, which closed in 2018. Officials declined to comment on when construction will begin and when the store will open.

UD STAR Campus expansion

With construction nearly complete on two state-of-the-art buildings on the University of Delaware's STAR Campus, the university announced another addition to the growing campus at the site of the former Chrysler plant in Newark in late November.

In early 2020, a $156 million biopharmaceutical building is expected to open. Chemours' research headquarters, a 312,000-square-foot building, is also expected to open at some point next year.

A six-story, 100,000 square-foot financial services technology building, announced in November, is expected to open in 2021.

STAR Campus is currently home to the 10-story STAR Tower, fuel-cell maker Bloom Energy, the UD Health Sciences complex and the headquarters for the technology company SevOne.

Urban Air Adventure Park

Projected opening: Feb. 2020

Urban Air Adventure Park, an indoor entertainment center featuring a trampoline park, indoor coaster and obstacle courses, is under construction in the back section of the Christiana Town Center near Buy Buy Baby. The 30,000-square-foot complex, which fills the majority of a long-vacant expansion, is expected to open in February 2020.

Wawa

Projected opening: unknown

A Wawa will anchor a new development east of the University Plaza shopping center off Del. 273 (Christiana Road). Plans for the site also call for two retail pads, one designed for a fast food or quick service restaurant, and the other for a larger restaurant or retailer.

Wegmans

Projected opening: unknown

A plan to redevelop Barley Mill Plaza, anchored by Delaware's first Wegmans grocery store, is on track for a relatively easy approval process. The plan was granted relief from traffic requirements in October, years after a controversy surrounding a previous proposal at the site was fought all the way to the Delaware Supreme Court.

Newport developer Gregory Pettinaro's $135 million project calls for upscale residences, shops and office space, along with Wegmans.

Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com or at (302) 324-2267. Follow on Twitter @holveck_brandon.