Smyrna feels building boom; Shopping center springs up as diner readies move

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SMYRNA — A construction explosion has been going on in South Smyrna with the building of a shopping center, adjacent stores and the start of major move for the Smyrna Diner.

The landmark restaurant has been working on moving from its current in-town location to a spot near the Gateway North shopping center at the intersection of Del. 1 and U.S. 13.

Construction of the 9,000- to 10,000-square-foot site for the diner was slated to begin in the summer, said general manager Jamie Compton, but water drainage issues constantly delayed the ground-breaking.

“When we bought the property we thought it was part of the original drainage system,” she said.

“One of our engineers realized it wasn’t connected and we had to figure how to fix that without giving up some of the property and (while) keeping costs down.”

The final decision was to have underground stormwater drainage below the parking lot, Ms. Compton said, which led to a wait for permits and financing.

On Tuesday, diner owner Sandy Margist will go to settlement with Kent Construction Co., Ms. Compton said, and within the following 10 days building will commence and should take about six to eight months to complete.

“It’s definitely happening,” she laughed. “As long as we don’t discover any dinosaur bones, we’re good to go!”

Construction on two of the five planned business has started at the future site of the Simon’s Corner shopping center.

“This is what I said in the beginning that Smyrna needed,” said Mayor Patricia A. Stombaugh. “It’s definitely going to bring more jobs to the area and local people need more employment here locally.”

Framework for the Wilmington Trust, one of the two banks that will eventually operate out of the center, is up and construction is progressing as planned, said project manager Mike Ansul with Nowland Associates Inc.

“We’ll probably have the bank take possession in late February, early March,” he said.

The 4,000-square-foot building will take over the majority of the business conducted at the smaller Glenwood Avenue location in town, said Rebecca DePorte, senior vice president of Personal Financial Services at Wilmington Trust.

The drive-through and ATM will remain open at the current branch, Ms. DePorte said.

“We looked at areas in Delaware that are growing significantly,” she said. “Kent County is an attractive area and that part of Smyrna has a lot of development and is a place with market demand.”

In addition to the two banks, a super Wawa, Happy Harry’s-Walgreens, Hardee’s, Baskin-Robbins/Dunkin’ Donuts and a possible second hotel have either pending or active permits, said Smyrna town manager David S. Hugg III.

Businesses planned for the remainder of the 40 acres that will be Simon’s Corner are still in negotiations, he said.

“We put a lot of work into Cabela’s and that didn’t work out,” Mr. Hugg said, of the negotiations with the large hunting store that was looking at Smyrna as a possible future site.

A 14,000-square-foot Rite Aid Pharmacy is near completion next to the Gateway North center, said corporate spokeswoman Ashley Flower, with a planned grand-opening date in February.

“We don’t build a new store on a whim,” Ms. Flower said. “We do market studies, research and a well thought-out growth initiative … and we thought Smyrna was a great fit.”

By Ali Cheeseman, Delaware State News

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