8/7/2014
Odyssey School submits long-term plans for Barley Mill site in Greenville; Councilman Weiner to schedule community meeting to seek community input - Hockessin Community News 8/6/14

Councilman Bob Weiner said that although he still has a number of concerns – mainly, bike/pedestrian interconnectivity with the surrounding community, architectural excellence, and quality of construction materials – a school would still be a better option than a regional shopping center. “I'm excited for the community about this possibility,” Weiner said. “However, the devil is in the details. I appreciate Odyssey School’s willingness to work with the community, even though no New Castle County Council approvals are needed.”

Weiner said that he joined New Castle General Manager Eileen Fogarty and CAO David Grimaldi during a July meeting with Odyssey’s legal representative Larry Tarabicos and other Odyssey representatives to discuss the plan. Following that meeting, Weiner said he offered to schedule a public meeting at A.I. DuPont Middle School for the community to review the new plan sometime after mid-September.

Odyssey School submits long-term plans for Barley Mill site in Greenville

Could the growing charter school give new life to an old, troubled site?

Hockessin Community News
By Wm. Shawn Weigel shawn.weigel@doverpost.com 
Posted Aug. 6, 2014 @ 6:56 pm

Elements of Odyssey’s proposed campus plan:
1) Four school buildings: Elementary School, Middle School, High School, and a combined gymnasium/science center, all housed in existing, renovated buildings on-site
2) Campus athletic fields will be located towards the rear of the property
3) School buildings will total approximately 261,000 square feet

GREENVILLE, Del.
The Odyssey Charter School ‘s plans to move onward and upward could also be a solution to one of the region’s longest-standing concerns.

On Tuesday, Aug. 5, representatives for the school officially filed a proposed resubdivision plan with the county to develop a portion of Barley Mill Plaza to house their growing student body.

The school officially signed a 15-month lease agreement for Building 20 last May for its K-4 students, with the ultimate goal to purchase, renovate or redevelop a total of eight buildings within the complex.

According to a press release from the school, the proposed plan “will not only separate the new school campus from the remaining portion of the office park, but it will also establish the building blocks for the future K through 12 charter school campus.”

A WELCOME CHANGE?

The location has been the focal point for various legal actions, as community groups fought to curb what they saw as unchecked development at the former business park that would bring an influx of unwanted traffic.
In March, the Delaware Supreme Court unanimously upheld an April 2013 decision by Chancery Court Judge Sam Glasscock III, rendering a rezoning of a 37-acre portion of the development invalid after a vote on the rezoning from New Castle County Councilman Bob Weiner, 2nd District, was considered “arbitrary and capricious.”

Weiner said that although he still has a number of concerns – mainly, bike/pedestrian interconnectivity with the surrounding community, architectural excellence, and quality of construction materials – a school would still be a better option than a regional shopping center.

“I'm excited for the community about this possibility,” Weiner said. “However, the devil is in the details. I appreciate Odyssey School’s willingness to work with the community, even though no New Castle County Council approvals are needed.”

Weiner said that he joined New Castle General Manager Eileen Fogarty and CAO David Grimaldi during a July meeting with Odyssey’s legal representative Larry Tarabicos and other Odyssey representatives to discuss the plan.

Following that meeting, Weiner said he offered to schedule a public meeting at A.I. DuPont Middle School for the community to review the new plan sometime after mid-September.

The proposed plan, Tarabicos said, would replace 480,000 square feet of office space with a 261,000 school campus.

That change, he said, would mean fewer trips and less traffic overall, particularly during evening commute times. “It’s significantly less traffic than what the current office space could generate,” Tarabicos said.

SCORING SUCCESS

Tarabicos said that the planned expansion marks the continued success of the school, which since opening in 2008 has received numerous accolades – including a “Top Ten Performing Schools” in Delaware ranking by Parents Magazine.

Read more: http://www.hockessincommunitynews.com/article/20140806/News/140809859

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