Lewes, Del., approves townhome project Overfall Preserve amid concerns over traffic. Amazon plans second, larger fulfillment center in Middletown, generating potential economic benefits for the town and adding thousands of jobs.
Lewes City Council photo
A photo of the proposed townhomes.
In coastal Delaware, the Lewes City Council and Mayor Andrew Williams have unanimously approved the preliminary site plan for the Overfall Preserve residential project just months after reaching a stalemate with developers over safety concerns.
The project is designed to include the construction of 90 townhomes with amenities at 1147 Savannah Rd. It received preliminary approval during a mayor/city council workshop and special meeting on April 24, 2025.
The Delaware News Journal in Wilmington noted May 7, 2025, that controversy arose over potential traffic concerns in the area, however, and the final site plan still awaits additional approvals before shovels can hit the ground.
Overfall Preserve (then called Warrington Property) was first pitched to the city of Lewes in June 2024 by Breakwater Partners LLC only two months after the three parcels of land were annexed by the city.
Besides the proposed 90 townhomes, plans also call for walking/bike paths and a swimming pool located on 12.67 acres adjacent to the Dutchman's Harvest workforce housing development, which is currently under construction.
The plan indicates that 36 percent of the Overfall Preserve site will be open space, which exceeds the 20 percent minimum enforced by the city. The site is not located within a floodplain or sensitive wetland area.
The main objection from the public, and at times from members of the planning commission and council, has been over traffic issues.
According to Breakwater Partners' traffic generation prediction, Overfall Preserve would cause 635 additional daily trips on the surrounding roads and would be projected to increase the daily traffic to and from Five Points by 4 percent and to the beach by 1 percent.
Application documents suggest that a majority of the Overfall Preserve homes would likely be "second homes" for residents, citing data from the Lewes Waterfront Preserve community demographics.
The preliminary site plan for Overfall Preserve also called for building three new roads for residents to get around the development.
But, in order for residents to drive onto Savannah Road, they would connect to a road that would be shared by Overfall Preserve and Dutchman's Harvest, the News Journal noted. To connect from Savannah Road to Kings Highway, drivers would need to cut through the parking lots for Dutchman's Harvest and The Lodge at Historic Lewes.
Concerns with the viability of residents getting on and off this road without causing a blockage were behind the Lewes City Council putting its decision on hold in January 2024, reported CoastTV.
The Lewes Planning commission has suggested adding dedicated turn lanes onto the access road, but the developer has said it will comply with what the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) suggests following a traffic study. According to planning documents, there is insufficient frontage for a separate entrance into Overfall Preserve along Savannah Road.
The townhome development's preliminary site plan was unanimously approved with approximately 25 conditions from the Lewes City Council and its planning commission.
The final site plan will be subject to review and approval by the city's planning staff.
Amazon Plans to Build Second Fulfillment Center in Middletown
If Delaware residents thought the Amazon fulfillment center in Middletown is big, they will hardly believe their eyes when they see what the online retail giant has planned next, just a few miles away.
Middletown Mayor Ken Branner told the News Journal that his town has approved a 3.2-million-sq.-ft. Amazon fulfillment center on approximately 135 acres near Middle Neck and Warwick roads. The site is close to the U.S. Highway 301 interchange, the Puglisi Egg Farms property and the Maryland state line.
The new center is approximately three times the size of the Amazon center on Merrimac Avenue in Middletown, which is just more than 1 million sq. ft., and first built in 2012.
Amazon officials have so far released only basic details about the new facility.
"I can confirm that we've purchased property in Middletown with the intent of opening an operations facility in the future," said Amazon spokesperson Rao Smith.
In December 2024, the Middletown Planning and Zoning Commission approved a preliminary major land development plan for "301 Business Park North" at 1963, 1985 and 1999 Middle Neck Road.
Branner and the city council approved the preliminary plan a month later, as well as the record plan presented by Richard Forsten, the attorney representing 301 Logistics LLC and Brian Conlon with Langan Engineers.
According to New Castle County property records, Amazon.com Services LLC of Seattle bought property from NZ-301 Logistics LLC of Bala Cynwyd, Pa. in April 2025.
Although the county records list the sales amount as $10, Delaware Business Times reported the actual price was $87.5 million — a fact neither Smith nor Branner would confirm.
"This process is in the early planning stages and additional steps remain," Smith said. "We'll share more when we can."
In fact, Amazon shared more with Branner and other town leaders during an April 15 tour of the company's Boxwood Road facility near Newport to show what the new Middletown facility will be like.
Branner said the plans are for a similar facility, with five floors, each of which are to be 20 ft. high for a total height of 100 ft., but with smaller total square footage than the 3.8-million-sq.-ft. Boxwood center.
During the tour, he was "amazed and impressed" at all the robots buzzing around and moving packages.
"There were robots everywhere, but they never run into each other," he told the Wilmington-based News Journal. "They were about 3 feet high, and they just run down the lines of shelves."
He and his party even saw a robot stop near them and plug itself into a charger.
"Then when it was done charging, it went out to the edge of the aisle until a computer told it what to do next," Branner marveled.
The day of the tour, the Boxwood facility shipped about 1 million packages.
"They said Boxwood Road is usually in the top five distribution centers in the country," Branner said. "Boxwood was number one that day."
Although the fulfillment center uses lots of robots, Middletown's mayor said every truck is packed by employees.
"They were loading 14 trailers at a time, and they hand pack them to fill all the empty spaces," explained Branner.
As far as an estimated number of jobs the new Middletown warehouse could create, Amazon officials would not comment.
"We're thinking 1,000 to 1,200," said Branner, "because even though it's larger than the current [Middletown] center, it will be more efficient with the latest technology."
That roughly equates to the same number of people that work at the Middletown Amazon, with more temporary jobs added during the holiday shopping rush.
The Amazon spokesperson would not comment on when construction would begin or an estimated opening date for the new fulfillment center. But Branner said that since the town has approved a preliminary site plan and sediment control plan, the retailer could conceivably start site work anytime.
He added that the new facility should benefit the town just as much as the current fulfillment center.
"It's provided jobs … the opportunity for higher-paying jobs and tax dollars for the town," he said.
The presence of Amazon has helped attract other companies to Middletown, and there's the ripple effect on the local economy with Amazon employees patronizing local businesses, he said. The company also has made generous donations in the community.
"They've been great partners," Branner said.
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