CVS has called together community and political leaders from the Pike Creek and North Star areas for more input on its plans to build a pharmacy at Paper Mill and Corner Ketch roads.
A public meeting is planned for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Independence School. Representatives of the Rhode Island-based CVS are expected to attend.
"What's the best fit for the community? That's the question for Thursday's meeting," said attorney Larry J. Tarabicos, representing CVS. "It isn't whether a CVS is a good or bad idea, but if not CVS, then what? Or, if yes, then how?"
It's been more than two years since brothers Curt and Arnie Dempsey began discussing the planned sale of the 6-acre property where they've operated Dempsey's Service Center at Whiteman's Garage for 28 years.
The brothers want to sell their property to CVS and relocate closer to Newark.
The site is properly zoned for a pharmacy; however, the sale can't go through without New Castle County signing off on a change to the deed, which restricts use of the land to an "automotive service center" only.
"We honestly think it's the best option that can happen here," Curt Dempsey said. "It preserves the open space next to us from being built upon, and it gives the community a pharmacy of a different name. We've grown up and Delaware, lived here our whole lives, and it's always been Happy Harry's."
No development plans have been filed with New Castle County yet, but a site sketch provided by Tarabicos shows that CVS would preserve roughly 80 percent of the 6-acre site as open space.
The footprint of the pharmacy would be 13,225 square feet, including 53 parking spaces. The Dempseys' existing footprint is 6,514 square feet.
The building design is not the usual CVS model: It would stand nearly 22.5 feet high, sporting a stone facade and "country redwood" entrance canopy and accents. Lettering on the building's side would be 3-inch-thick brushed aluminum, back-lit on a black panel.
The developer is Cory Martin of JEM X LLC in Gastonia, N.C., which has developed 15 to 17 CVS pharmacies in Delaware, not including the store under construction on Naamans Road at Peachtree Road in Brandywine Hundred.
Neighbors are split on the proposal near Pike Creek. They worry about traffic safety and bright lights, and say the CVS could alter the character of the residential corridor bordering the 3,300-acre White Clay Creek State Park.
CVS has made concessions based on feedback from a focus group of 15 to 20 people affiliated with the Greater White Clay Creek Civic League, which represents 13 to 14 nearby communities.
The focus group supported the project to ensure the best outcome on elements from architectural design to limited operating hours, said league President Nate Schwartz. The company won't build any secondary buildings on site, as initially planned.
"The argument that we have enough drug stores is not strong enough," Schwartz said. "If a business sees the opportunity to come in, they're going to take it."
Jeff Peters, president of the Pike Creek Valley Civic League, said opposition was "overwhelming" among residents who attended an October 2013 meeting about the CVS. "I'm surprised they came back," he said. "So, fine – we'll do this again."
Bernardette Hubbs, who lives in Thistleberry Farms, is concerned the focus group doesn't represent the desires of "most" residents who want the deed restrictions to remain in force, she said.
"If this meeting is anything like the previous public meeting held last year, sparks will fly again," Hubbs said.
County Executive Tom Gordon wants to see the restrictions upheld. "I am not convinced that putting a CVS in that location would not ruin the Route 72 Corridor," Gordon said Wednesday through a spokesman.
The garage sits in the district of state Rep. Joe Miro, who sat on County Council when the site was rezoned in 1998.
"CVS has offered a significant amount of money for that site, and money talks," Miro said. "While I do not approve of this change, if the community were to come out Thursday and say this is a great idea, I'm not going to go against the community."
County Councilwoman Janet Kilpatrick expects that residents remain split, and she understands why.
"People don't necessarily like change, and this is change," Kilpatrick said. "The Dempseys say they're committed to selling. If they don't do the CVS, would it be better to have a Jiffy Lube in there? Or to have someone else purchase the land and do something the community has no say in?"
Contact Melissa Nann Burke at (302) 324-2329, mburke@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @nannburke.
COMMUNITY MEETING
WHAT: Community meeting about CVS's plan for a pharmacy at Corner Ketch and Paper Mill roads near Pike Creek
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: The Independence School, 1300 Paper Mill Road, Newark, 19711
PLANNED CVS SITE
LOCATION: 604 Corner Ketch Road
EXISTING FOOTPRINT: 6,514 square feet
PROPOSED FOOTPRINT: 13,225 square feet
PROPOSED PARKING: 53 spaces
SITE: 5.87 acres
PLANNED OPEN SPACE: 4.7 acres
