Councilman Bob Weiner interview posted http://wdel.com/story/77262-video-concord-plaza-redevelopment-will-bring-more-homes-shops-and-restaurants-but-more-traffic 

Plans are underway to redevelop the Concord Plaza office park in Brandywine Hundred by converting eight existing buildings and replacing them with luxury apartments, specialty retail, restaurants, cafes, and a signature office building--but that means more cars in the area. 

"Will there be an increase in traffic? Probably," said Larry Tarabicos, the attorney for the project. "Is it going to be noticeable? Probably not."

The Buccini-Pollin group would convert about 185,000 square feet of existing old office space into 312 apartments, over 26,500 feet of retail space, and a new state of the art 54,000-square-foot office building at the plaza on Silverside Road.

The concerns for many nearby residents is the extra traffic the project is anticipated to generate in the area. 

"This project has passed the traffic analysis through careful scrutiny by both the state and county officials. However, we're going to continue to be diligent to watch as the project phases are built to make sure we don't out strip any of our infrastructure, water, sewer, or traffic capacity," said County Councilman Bob Weiner. 

As for the traffic analysis, it included many nearby intersections. 

"The traffic impacts from this project--as well as existing traffic and projected traffic for the area, and the study passed--there were no limitations; 13 intersections were studied," Tarabicos said.

As for the project as a whole, some residents are also concerned with the scope of the project because of the size of the buildings in the proposal, which adds a different landscape to the area. 

Not all will be different with a redeveloped Concord Plaza. About 370,000 square feet of existing office space will remain at the plaza. 

The goal of the project is to revive and rejuvenate the space. 

"We can redevelop this, bring in young millennials to live in our community, provide an area where those empty-nester, senior folks who want to downsize and live in the community as well," said Weiner. 

The proposed plan should go before County Council in the next few months, and if approved, the targeted end date for the project would be at the end of 2018 or the beginning of 2019.