A single-family house developer plans to build up to 663 residences in northern Delaware, catering to commuters to nearby Wilmington and Philadelphia and retirees.
With the Monarch project, developer Schell Brothers is branching out from its roots in the First State’s beachside towns farther south. The development near Middletown is expected to include homes ranging from 1,600 to 8,000 square feet, aimed at a broad audience. Most of the houses will be on quarter-acre lots.
“There’s a real housing shortage in Delaware, which is not that big, and we have so many people retiring here because of our tax-friendly laws,” Alyssa Titus, Schell’s marketing director, told Homes.com.
Delaware, which does not have a sales tax and is known for a tax system friendly to corporations, saw its population increase 10% from 2010 to 2020 and recently passed the 1 million mark, according to a November 2023 Delaware State Housing Authority report. The agency said the state needs to build more than 24,000 homes by 2030.
The median sales price for single-family homes in the Middletown area is $581,450, according to Homes.com data.
More than 70% of homes in the southern part of New Castle County, which includes Middletown, are single-family detached homes, the state housing authority report said, with another 21% in attached homes like townhouses. Schell is focused on building only detached homes, Titus said.
A key feature of Monarch will be its amenity building that Titus said will provide a resort-like experience for residents. It will include an event venue for weddings and other gatherings; a swimming pool; golf simulators and pickleball and tennis courts. Schell plans 5 kilometers of walking trails and will invite Delaware-based artists to paint butterfly-shaped benches for pedestrians.
The developer expects to start building houses by late summer or early fall, with some available for move-in by the second quarter of 2026.
Besides Delaware, Schell has built homes in recent years in Nashville; Richmond, Virginia; and Boise, Idaho. The company sticks to consistent designs for its home interiors, Titus said, but uses varied outside elements such as brick on homes in Richmond and garages for recreational vehicles in Boise.