Commission grants one‑year extension for Deep Branch Plaza final site plan

The Milford Planning Commission voted to grant a one‑year extension of final site plan approval for the Deep Branch Plaza shopping center on South Rehoboth Boulevard.

Engineer Cliff Mumford and owner representative Nick Hammonds told the commission that the site entrance and some utility work have been constructed and that DelDOT‑required frontage and entrance improvements exist to support the project and an adjacent apartment complex. The project’s original final approval (May 19, 2020) authorized multiple commercial buildings: two 7,000‑square‑foot restaurants, three 9,600‑square‑foot retail buildings and a 4,200‑square‑foot office building. The applicant requested a fifth extension of final site‑plan approval.

"We are big believers in Milford," Nick Hammonds said, explaining that rising construction costs and interest rates since initial approval have delayed full build‑out. Hammonds said the applicant has pursued an anchor tenant (a dollar store) and that economics, not the lack of permits, has delayed construction. Cliff Mumford said other agency approvals are current and that the Sussex Conservation District recently extended its permit.

Commissioners said they saw progress on frontage and entrance work and voted to grant the extension for one year. The extension vote allows the applicant more time to secure financing, tenants and final construction approvals before the planning commission’s prior final site‑plan approval would expire.

The staff packet included the original approval documents, construction plans, and the extension request letter. The commission’s action was a vote to extend the permit period, not a new site‑plan approval.