SUNBURY — A new retail and dining development featuring restaurants, outdoor gathering space and a possible brewery or taproom is moving forward on Sunbury’s west side.
The city of Sunbury’s planning and zoning commission approved a site plan for the “modern strip mall” on about 4.6 acres during its Tuesday meeting.
The roughly $10 million site, called Local Provision, is proposed for the corner of West Granville Street and Sunbury Meadows Drive. It will feature three buildings totaling about 34,350 square feet.
The commission approved the site plan contingent upon the developer submitting a final landscaping plan, completing engineering and legal reviews, and addressing work within the public right-of-way.
The proposal will next move to Sunbury City Council for additional approval.
Local Provision owner and manager Dana Donnell said crews would construct the development in phases, with Phase 1 hopefully coming in 2027.
He said the goal of the project is to bring something new to Sunbury while maintaining the city’s charm.
“[Local Provision is] a little more modern, it’s got an exo-structure around the steel. I wanted to get out of the box, just a little bit,” Donnell said.
Phase 1 would construct the first building, a large outdoor patio and some of the 177 parking spaces within the development, he said. Further phases of the project could also feature 17 street parking spaces along West Granville Street.
While tenants aren’t finalized and very much still in the works, the plan is for each building to potentially feature some kind of restaurant.
Inside the project
Donnell said the centerpiece of the project will feature a taproom or brewery-like tenant. The building’s concept plan lays out space for three tenants, with Tenant Space A being a multi-level unit.
“The back building [Building A] would be considered Phase 1. That building has the proposed taproom, the breakfast-lunch venue, and I think it is the space the community needs first,” Donnell told Delaware Source.
“It has a large outdoor community experience area and a second-floor bar area.”
The idea for all of the buildings is to create inviting entry points on both sides of the facade, whether that’s from the street side or the rear parking lot side.
Additionally, Donnell hopes to utilize a broker to find the right tenants for each building.
Building B’s concept plan has four tenant spaces, and concept drawings show potential restaurants occupying the two spaces on the ends of the building. Retail or office space could take up the middle two units.
Building C’s renderings depict five tenant locations with conceptual uses ranging from a restaurant, ice cream shop, urgent care, bakery or coffee shop.
The project still has a long way to go — commission members raised questions Tuesday about traffic patterns, parking and whether the development should include more kid-friendly space.
The proposed parking count has already been reduced from 194 spaces in earlier plans.
Even with those outstanding questions, Donnell said he is excited about the project and its future in Sunbury.
