The conversion of the College Square shopping center to The Grove at Newark, a mixed-use development with apartments, shops and restaurants, is in full swing.
Approved by the city of Newark in 2019, developer Fusco Management of New Castle pitched The Grove as an active lifestyle center designed with walkability and modern amenities in mind. Unlike most developments in Newark, it sought to appeal to young professionals and empty-nesters as opposed to University of Delaware undergraduates.
“When you speak about mixed-use, you’re really talking about creating that sense of place, that sense of there,” said Mike Hoffman, an attorney representing the developer, in 2019.
Here’s where the development, sandwiched between Library Avenue and Marrows Road north of Wyoming Road, stands.
Grove North
The strip center at the north end of the College Square property has remained throughout the project. It’s been renovated with a fresh facade and a few new tenants have moved in: Bonchon Korean Fried Chicken, Jersey Mike’s and Leslie’s Pool Supplies.
NovaCare Rehabilitation is under construction next to Jersey Mike’s.
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Several vacancies remain, including the former Sears Hardware store.
Construction crews recently started building signs at the entrances near the strip center and fencing that guide drivers into the development. A central artery will eventually connect the entrances.
Grove Central
Five buildings are planned around a green space in the center of the development between the strip of shops and the Compass at The Grove apartments. One of the buildings will be home to Del Pez, a Mexican gastropub. Hakuna Hospitality Group, which operates Del Pez, used to have a location on Newark’s Main Street and currently has a location at the Wilmington Riverfront.
Fusco Management has agreements with a Middle Eastern fast-casual restaurant and a Mexican fast-casual restaurant to share another one of the buildings. Fusco has not announced those tenants. An adjacent building will have a drive-thru.
Most of the central area of The Grove is fenced off for construction.
Compass at The Grove
The first tenants of Compass at The Grove, a 306-unit apartment complex on the southeast side of the development, moved in last fall.
Billed as luxury apartments, Compass at The Grove offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. A one-bedroom unit starts at $2,170 per month, according to the complex’s website.
The complex is divided into two U-shaped buildings that encircle an outside common area. The common space features multiple seating areas, outdoor grills and dining spaces, fire pits, lawns and a pool. Interior amenities include a billiards and gaming lounge, a bar, a co-working space, an e-gaming venue and an expansive gym.
Parking is also located between the buildings on the south side opposite the lobby entrance. The strip center and under-construction restaurants are walkable via paths lined by young trees that cut through the shopping center parking lots.
Grove South
The former Kmart is slated to be divided among several tenants, but work has yet to begin. In the southeast corner of the development near the intersection of Wyoming and Library avenues, a pad site that will house multiple tenants is under construction.
One of the tenants will be First Watch, a Florida brunch chain. First Watch has locations on Geoffrey Drive in Christiana and in Barley Mill Plaza on Route 141 in Greenville. Fusco has also signed on with a coffee retailer that it has yet to announce.
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North of the First Watch building, Raising Cane’s has been completed. The Louisiana-based chicken finger chain is now hiring. Roles start at $15 per hour. A Raising Cane’s spokesperson previously told Delaware Online/The News Journal the new location is scheduled to open in mid-to-late April.
A community green next to a playground is under construction between Raising Cane’s and WSFS, the local bank that has remained from the previous development.
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Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.
