Milton, Del. — The Milton Planning and Zoning Commission granted a second one-year extension to Royal Farms’ final site-plan approval, pushing the deadline to June 5, 2026. The project, initially approved in May 2023, has faced delays primarily tied to funding and coordination with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).
Royal Farms plans to build a 4,700-square-foot convenience store alongside a 5,100-square-foot fueling area. The development includes intersection upgrades at Route 16 with Cedar Creek Road and Union Street Extended, incorporating turn lanes, updated traffic signals, and pedestrian walkways. A key hurdle remains securing funding for these improvements through Milton’s transportation improvement district (TID), a framework that shares costs among developers, state, and local agencies.
The coordination process has been slow due to overlapping jurisdictional input and the site’s recent annexation into Milton in December 2020. While Milton has endorsed Royal Farms’ application, final approval hinges on DelDOT, which manages the affected roadways. Additional requirements include updates to sewer plans following new regulations and contractor coordination. Royal Farms first announced the project in 2021 and received preliminary and special-use permits in 2022.
