Dover

A quaint neighborhood of about 2,000 residents, Kent Acres maintains a suburban atmosphere while being only 2 miles south of Dover. The historic capital city offers plenty of museums and was the former home of American Revolution hero, Caesar Rodney. In fact, the highly-rated school district that serves this community is named after him. Patriotism is also recognized on the east side of Kent Acres, where Dover Air Force Base is. “It’s nice to sit on the front porch and hear the Reveille every morning, and at night they play Taps,” says Steve Schmidt, lifetime local and Broker/Owner with RE/MAX Horizons. But highly ranked schools and affordable proximity to the Capital of the First State aren’t the only benefits of life in Kent Acres. Commuters have convenient access to U.S. Route 13, which runs along the western edge of the neighborhood, and the Puncheon Run Connector leads them to Delaware Route 1, which borders the east side. Beech, oak and maple trees line the residential streets that weave through the majority of Kent Acres. Some subdivisions feature sidewalks that wrap around quaint, 1,000- to 2,000-square-foot ranch-style or manufactured homes, and price tags typically run from $150,000 to $325,000. “It’s more of a first-time homebuyer area with homes built in the 1960s and 1970s,” Schmidt says. “It originally started as base housing for Dover Air Force Base back in the ‘60s.” In other areas without sidewalks, the roads are kept quiet thanks to off-street vehicle parking in driveways and attached garages. New Traditional and contemporary styles, built in the 2000s, sit on half-acre to full-acre lots with spacious green front lawns and backyards. The sizes of these homes range from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet, and they generally cost between $400,000 and $850,000. There are also Colonial Revival estates in the neighborhood offering over 6,000 square feet of space, some featuring in-ground pools in the backyard. These newer builds, usually constructed within the last 10 years, are priced from $900,000 to upwards of $1.25 million. Caesar Rodney School District, which Niche ranks as the Best School District in Kent County, serves students living in Kent Acres. They can begin at W. Reily Brown Elementary, which receives a B grade from Niche. They can then advance to Fred Fifer Middle School and Caesar Rodney High School, which both receive an A-minus. Caesar Rodney High, ranked as the Best Public High School in Kent County by Niche, recently received the Siemens Foundation Award for Advanced Placement and the Lt. Governor’s Model of Educational Excellence Award. Calvary Christian Academy, graded a B-plus, is a private Pentecostal school in the area that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The academy is housed in the same building as Calvary Church, which is affiliated with the Assemblies of God denomination. On the west side of Kent Acres, just across the highway, Brecknock County Park offers 86 acres of outdoor recreation. Visitors can explore the Howell Mill Nature Center, walk the trails around the several athletic fields or play on the expansive wooden, castle-themed playground. On the other side of the neighborhood, St. Jones Greenway features a 14-mile trail that follows the St. Jones River. The river eventually flows into Delaware Bay, about 12 miles away, and a waterway also weaves along the south side of Kent Acres into Moores Lake, a popular spot for kayaking and fishing. About 4 miles south of the lake along U.S. Route 13 is the Kent County Public Library, which was awarded the 2024 Library of the Year by the Delaware Library Association for its inclusive reading selections, community programs and events. Residents are about 10 miles from the coast, where they can visit Pickering Beach to find horseshoe crabs skittering across the rocky sand, and about 10 miles further, the shores of Big Stone Beach are full of seashells and stingrays. For a more typical beach experience, the popular sandy destination of Rehoboth Beach is about 45 miles south. “It’s only an hour’s drive away, so you can easily take a day trip out there,” Schmidt says. Residents are a quick drive away from the fast-food eateries, banks and storefronts that are just off the highway. A few local restaurants are also close, including Touchdown, an American sports bar with pub food, a full bar and occasional live music. Bavarian Bakery and Deli, open only on Fridays, Saturdays and Tuesdays, is a German bakery that offers custom cakes, fresh baked goods and deli sandwiches. There are a few small neighborhood markets in this retail section, but for larger grocery hauls, there’s a Food Lion on the east side of town. The northern area of Kent Acres features a medical park complete with family care, a dental clinic and an optometrist. For more comprehensive medical services, Bayhealth Hospital is about 2 miles north in downtown Dover. U.S. Route 13 runs along the west side of Kent Acres, and the Puncheon Run Connector conveniently connects motorists to Delaware Route 1 – also known as Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway – to the east. There are a few Delaware Administration for Regional Transit, or DART, bus stops along State Road, which cuts north to south through the center of the neighborhood. While there are several hobby airports around Dover for those with small-scale planes, the closest place for residents to catch flights out of state is in Wilmington, about 50 miles north. On the east side of Kent Acres is Dover Air Force Base, where there are two runways that can cause noise issues for the surrounding areas. “You hear the plans every once in a while,” Schmidt says. “But the flight patterns very rarely come over the developments in Kent Acres.” The base is home to the active duty 436th Airlift Wing, known as the Eagle Wing, and the reserve’s 512th Airlift Wing, known as the Liberty Wing. Every May, Dover AFB hosts the air show that features the United States Air Force Thunderbirds and the United States Navy Blue Angels. Delaware Bay, which leads into the Atlantic Ocean, is about 10 miles east of Kent Acres.

Now a community that blends residential homes with commercial industry along U.S. Route 13, Rodney Village served a different purpose when it was originally built. “In the early 1960s, it was mostly ranch-style homes built for people moving into Dover Air Force Base,” says Steve Schmidt, Broker/Owner with RE/MAX Horizons who grew up in Rodney Village. “It’s small, so more of an area for first-time homebuyers.” This quaint, 1,500-resident community sits about 4 miles west of the military base and 2 miles south of downtown Dover, where the city’s history as the capital of the First State is proudly celebrated. Schmidt mentions that Delaware doesn’t tax social security, which brings a lot of buyers from New York or Pennsylvania. “They want to be close to their kids and grandkids,” he says. “And here, you get more bang for your buck.” The neighborhood also recognizes its modern-day diversity through a variety of international markets and restaurants. Most of the west side is reserved for the Akridge Scout Reservation, where campers embrace old-school recreation, while the south side features Brecknock County Park, where expansive green space features both historic sites and new-age play areas. The established residential subdivisions of Rodney Village are lined with sidewalks, and the roads are generally kept quiet thanks to driveways that offer off-street parking and plenty of stop signs. Common housing types include ranch-style and raised ranch homes built in the 1950s and 1960s, with some split-levels from the 1970s. Many properties feature driveways and carports, and some include attached garages and fenced-in backyards. Properties sit on cozy, manicured front lawns and typically range from 1,000 to 2,500 square feet in size. Price tags for these single-family residences generally stay between $200,000 and $300,000. While half of Rodney Village is residential, the other half is commercial. Residents meet most of their retail and dining needs around U.S. Route 13, which runs along the area’s east side. Rodney Village Shopping Mall is home to salons, eateries, a pharmacy and discount stores like Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, Goodwill and Dollar General. Next to the plaza, Doverama is a bowling alley with 32 lanes. Just across the highway, Bavarian Bakery and Deli – open Fridays, Saturdays and Tuesdays only – offers German pastries, custom cakes and deli sandwiches. Trini Quizeen is a Black- and woman-owned Caribbean restaurant housed inside a small cottage that’s open Wednesdays through Saturdays. Touchdown is the local watering hole, serving pub food and drinks alongside billiards and live music. There are several international food markets along U.S. Route 13, including El Super Latin Groceries, Produce Village & Wholesale and M&C Caribbean Market. For larger grocery hauls, Redner’s is about a mile south down the highway. Rodney Village residents have the benefit of being within walking distance from one of the most popular parks in Kent County, Brecknock County Park. With 86 acres of outdoor recreation, this park offers both paved and unpaved walking trails that loop around athletic fields and pavilions. The highlight of this park, however, is Piccadilly Castle, an expansive wooden castle-themed playground for children 12 and younger. A few historic buildings are also on-site, including the Main House, which was built in the 1700s, and the Tenant House, built in the 1800s. On the west side of the neighborhood, Kent County Recreation Center has an indoor gym that hosts youth sports leagues and an outdoor area with a playground, walking trails and athletic fields. In the same building, the Boys & Girls Club has 25,000 square feet of space for daycare and after-school programs. Situated between Brecknock County Park and the Rec Center, the 85-acre Akridge Scout Reservation hosts Boy Scout camps and programs, as well as non-affiliated camping excursions. Students living in Rodney Village are part of the Caesar Rodney School District, which is ranked as the Best School District in Kent County by Niche. Starting at W. Reily Brown Elementary, graded a B from Niche, students can then progress to Fred Fifer Middle, which receives an A-minus grade. Caesar Rodney High, which Niche gives an A-minus and ranks as the Best Public High School in the county, received the Siemens Foundation Award for Advanced Placement. This honor is awarded to schools with students who receive an AP score of 5 on at least three exams, and Caesar Rodney High offers 23 AP courses. Calvary Christian Academy is a private kindergarten through twelfth-grade Pentecostal school with a B-plus Niche grade. The academy shares its campus with Calvary Church, a community church in affiliation with the Assemblies of God denomination. In Camden, the town that borders Rodney Village on the south side, the community gathers for the Peach Festival on the first Saturday of August. From morning to late afternoon, there are food and craft vendors and a peach dessert contest, with winners voted on by the public. “The peach industry is pretty big at Fifer’s Farm,” Schmidt says, referring to the farm located about 2 miles west of the neighborhood. There, a farm-fresh produce store – which also serves ice cream and cider slushies – attracts people from all over to pick peaches, blueberries and sunflowers. Another highly anticipated annual event, Dover Days is held during the first week each May. Celebrated just 2 miles north in Downtown Dover, this 91-year event showcases Dover’s cultural and historical significance as the Capital of the First State through horse and buggy rides, 1700s-era garb, music and evening fireworks. In addition to U.S. Route 13 running along the east side, the P.O.W./M.I.A. Parkway cuts through Rodney Village, serving as an alternate route to the surrounding areas. Delaware Route 1 is about 2 miles east via the Puncheon Run Connector, which leads residents to Wilmington, about 50 miles north. There, Wilmington Airport offers domestic flights through Avelo Air and American Airlines. A 45-mile drive south on Delaware Route 1 will lead to Rehoboth Beach, a popular summer destination with a boardwalk and sandy shores. “You can easily take a day trip,” Schmidt says. “We like to take our jeep out onto the beach.” For those without a vehicle, there are a few Delaware Authority for Regional Transit – or DART – bus stops peppered throughout the eastern section of the neighborhood. Dover Air Force Base is located about 2 miles from Rodney Village, from which residents might hear aircraft taking off and landing on the base’s two runways. “You hear the planes every once in a while,” Schmidt says, “But the flight patterns very rarely come over the developments in Rodney Village.” Dover Air Force Base is home to the active duty 436th Airlift Wing, known as the Eagle Wing, and the reserve’s 512th Airlift Wing, known as the Liberty Wing. Every May, people travel from all over the country to watch the air show, where the United States Air Force Thunderbirds and the United States Navy Blue Angels demonstrate their world-famous flight skills.