HARRINGTON — A Brownfield site in Harrington is well on its way to becoming a new commercial center with Starbucks as its first tenant with Lighthouse Construction paving the way.
RMG Harrington, LLC. purchased the property at 16519 DuPont Hwy in 2022 for $550,000, according to Kent County property records, and Lighthouse Senior Project Manager and Vice President Michael Glick said the process of turning the former gas station and auto repair shop on the 3.3-acre site has been long, but overdue for its stretch of U.S. Route 13.
“It was a former gas station back in the ‘90s, so now we are wrapping up the Brownfield program [with DNREC] and, at the same time, looking to redevelop the property. On one side, we will have Starbucks. On the other, we will have a retail center with six [additional] spaces and we’re wanting to attract service-oriented businesses there,” he told the Delaware Business Times.
The process will involve removing the existing 7,941 square-foot building and adding the two proposed facilities, according to planning documents presented to the City of Harrington. The two buildings will include a 2,348 square-foot site to house Starbucks which has already signed a lease for the location and 9,940 square feet of commercial space in the other building.
Starbucks is slated to move in when construction is completed in the first quarter of 2026. Glick said their broker, R&R Commercial Realty, does not yet have prospects for the other six sites.
Glick told DBT that the multi-step Brownfield process took years to complete, including “extensive evaluation of the existing soils and contamination” on the site, but previous efforts made it easier for the family-owned construction business.
“There are design criteria or rules added if a property needs to be redeveloped or cleaned up. But there was cleanup completed on this property in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. DNREC determined that no additional cleanup was necessary and that the property was stable,” Glick said.
All told, the current redevelopment of the property on the northbound side of the highway headed out of town cost roughly $2.5 million including roadway improvements, sewer and water extensions and utility pole relocations, he added.
“The significance for Harrington can be big. Harrington has the business park coming online and trying to expand and I think the more higher-end amenities coming to the area will help attract employees and other employers,” Glick told DBT. “I know for us and our staff here, a lot of times we look at what’s local and that supports the overall business atmosphere.”
R&R Realty Broker Charles Rodriguez said that the increased commercial activity in Harrington, affectionately dubbed the “hub of Delaware” by locals, is a welcomed sign for future development like the buildings yet to be built by Lighthouse Construction.
“Bayhealth built a building just south of that location and that seems to be doing very well for them and a lot of other fast food restaurants have looked at Harrington, as well. Starbucks is pretty excited about that site,” Rodriguez told DBT.
While no leases have been signed for the other commercial sites as of yet, he said some prospects have shown interest.
“We’ve had a couple of other restaurants look into it. We can’t really say at this point because they’re not committed yet. We’d welcome physical therapy, real estate or insurance agencies, or something like that, too,” Rodriguez said. “We see this as a good neighborhood center. It connects well with the traffic light and Delaware Avenue right there connects well with downtown. It will be a great addition.”
Harrington City Manager Norman Barlow said projects like this one are a good sign for the city as it continues to grow with several new housing developments on the rise, more than 200 acres recently annexed into town and continued commercial growth.
“We’ve got a lot of prospects,” Barlow told DBT. “There’s a lot of potential commercial growth like we’re seeing with this strip mall. We’ve got a Dollar General Market going with the Rite Aid was, we’re working with 2.5 acres behind the Parks and Recreation Center to add more activities for our residents and we just bought a house at 101 Dorman St. to create a parking lot downtown to better aid citizens renting the Price Center. Harrington has a good selection of things and we’re growing pretty rapidly.”
