Home Care In Greenwood, DE

T&R Properties’ plans to redevelop the former Greenwood Lake property into a mixed-use development are moving forward after Delaware City Council voted unanimously to approve a trio of ordinances related to the proposal, to be known as Greenwood Commons, during Monday’s meeting.

Following a presentation by city staff and comments from stakeholders in the project, the council approved a zoning amendment, conditional use permit, and a preliminary development plan for the approximately 62-acre site located at 340 Lake St. and directly east of Joy Avenue. The Delaware Planning Commission previously recommended approval of the development during its meeting on May 3.

T&R Properties is proposing to construct a total of 528 apartment units, 64 townhomes, one single-family home, and a private clubhouse across three subareas on the site. Subarea A would span approximately 22.62 acres on the northern portion of the property and would contain 252 apartment units across seven three-story buildings as well as a clubhouse. A percentage of the units in Subarea A would likely be studio or single-bedroom units targeted toward workforce housing.

A men’s shelter for short-term housing is also proposed for Subarea A, and the seven apartment buildings would be clustered around the shelter.

Subarea B would span approximately 34.21 acres and would include 276 market-rate apartment units across three buildings, as well as 64 townhomes, the lone single-family home, and a clubhouse. The townhomes would be constructed as 16 four-unit single-family attached buildings located near the southernmost boundary of the site to provide a transition from the existing single-family homes to the south of the site to the proposed apartment buildings in Subarea A.

Subarea C would be maintained as a passive open space with a permanent tree preserve of approximately 5,854 caliper inches.

“We’re really excited about this project,” T&R Properties development administrator R.J. Sabatino said following the city’s presentation. “It’s a unique project. We have a great opportunity here to really ameliorate some of the housing shortage in the area as well as breathe life into the former Salvation Army camp.”

Asked about the target rents for the various types of units, Sabatino said the expectation is around $1,200 for one-bedroom units, $1,600 for two-bedroom units, and $2,000 for three-bedroom townhomes. During the May 3 Planning Commission meeting, T&R founder Ron Sabatino said the rates for the workforce units are still undecided, although he added that recent discussions with the city involved anywhere from 20-30% of the units in Subarea A carrying reduced rates to meet the need for workforce housing in the city.

As for the proposed men’s shelter in Subarea A, which drew the ire of many area residents during the Planning Commission discussions, R.J. Sabatino said the zoning text would allow for upwards of 20 total residents. However, he noted the initial plan is for approximately six residents at the shelter.

Elizabeth Curtis, who serves as the board chairwoman of St. Vincent de Paul Men’s Shelter of Delaware County, Inc., was on hand during the meeting to discuss the shelter’s role in the proposal. Curtis said it is the shelter’s intention to raise money to purchase the acre of land from Sabatino that would house the shelter in Subarea A.

“We would be developing a shelter that would work with referrals primarily from the Delaware County Jail, men who have been part of the jail ministry with St. Vincent de Paul that’s primarily run by St. John Neumann Church in Sunbury,” Curtis told the council. “We would start with five men. We would also have a warming center that would take the place of the warming center that’s at Zion (United Church of Christ) right now. So we would house, on the very coldest nights of the year, an average of about four men for that.”

Curtis added that, over time, the shelter would grow to serve a total of 20 men.

Monday’s discussion, which represented the second reading of the ordinances, included a public hearing to allow members of the public to weigh in on the proposal. No one from the public participated in the hearing, however, and following the closing of the public hearing, Vice Mayor Kent Shafer offered his support of the proposal before making motions to approve the ordinances.

“This is an important development, I think, for several reasons,” Shafer said. “As (Planning and Community Development Director) Dave (Efland) mentioned, we want to see that area get developed. The men’s shelter is part of this, and this developer has been in discussion with us about potentially being one of the first to utilize our attainable housing plan should that come into play.”

T&R Properties will still need to submit a final development plan to the city for final approval of the development.

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.

Manchester United is continuing contract negotiations with David de Gea, the club said Friday, after the Spanish goalkeeper was left off its retained list of players for next season.

Meanwhile, Mason Greenwood was included on the list, four months after charges against him of attempted rape and assault were dropped.

De Gea becomes a free agent this summer, but could still remain at the club where he has been since he signed from Atletico Madrid in 2011.

“Discussions remain open with David over a potential new contract,” United said.

Despite winning the Premier League Golden Glove for the most clean sheets last season, De Gea’s position has been in question over his ability to play out from the back with his feet.

Manager Erik ten Hag sees that as a key quality for his keepers and United has been linked with a move for Brentford’s David Raya this summer.

While De Gea’s future remains uncertain, so does Greenwood’s despite his inclusion on the retained list.

The 21-year-old striker has not played for United since he was arrested on suspicion of rape and assault in January 2022.

All charges against him were dropped in February this year, but he remains the subject of an internal “process” being conducted by United.

While there has been speculation about whether he will ever play for the club again, he is still under contract until 2025.

United said in February that it would “conduct its own process before determining next steps.”

There has been no further official communication over Greenwood’s position, other than his inclusion on the retained players list, which was published on the club’s website on Friday.

Greenwood was considered a prodigy when bursting onto the scene as a 17-year-old in 2019.

“He’s a special talent, a special kid that we are going to look after and try to develop into a top, top player,” former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said in 2020.

His explosive goal-scoring earned comparisons with United great Wayne Rooney and he looked destined to become an Old Trafford icon and future England star.

But all of that was brought to a halt when images and videos on social media led to his arrest and subsequent suspension by United.

Sportswear giant Nike, which said it was “deeply concerned by the disturbing allegations,” ended its sponsorship deal with Greenwood last year.

The case against him was discontinued because of “a combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction,” the Crown Prosecution Service said in February, adding that it had “a duty to keep cases under continuous review.”

Given United’s need to find a replacement for departed striker Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, Greenwood could be considered an option for Ten Hag if cleared to play for the club.

His career, however, remains on hold while United’s internal process goes on, with no timeframe given as to how long it will take to reach a conclusion.

A 36-year-old driver from Greenwood has come forward to claim a $3 million prize from a Mega Millions draw last week.

The unidentified man -- lottery winners in Delaware are permitted to remain anonymous -- purchased the ticket at the Royal Farms in Bridgeville ahead of the July 22, 2022 drawing.

He correctly had all five of the white balls, but missed the Megaball.

The prize for that level is $1 million, but because he had paid an extra dollar for the Megaplier, which came up 3X, his jackpot tripled to the $3 million.

In an interview with Delaware Lottery officials, the man said he typically plays Multi-Win Lotto, but opted to try Mega Millions when he was the estimated $860 million jackpot.

"I was just showing my wife how easy it is to use the self-service kiosk,” the man said. “We saw how big the jackpot was for Mega Millions and decided to give it a try. Why not, right? I’ve won $500 and $600 prizes from Multi-Win Lotto before, but I never expected anything like this.”

The odds of getting the five white balls correct is 1:12,607,306. The overall jackpot comes with a 1:302,575,350 chance.

The man said he didn't watch the draw, but came to the store to check the ticket.

“I had kind of forgotten about the ticket,” the man said. “When I finally scanned it, I thought there had to be a mistake. I checked with the cashier, and sure enough, it really was a $3 million winner. I still can’t believe it.”

He said he plans to pay off his mortgage, and "retirement definitely just got a little closer."

His win is the largest since Delaware began offering Mega Millions in 2010. $1 million has been won four times, most recently in May 2021.

Most of Delaware's largest jackpots have been won in Powerball, with the record being a $215 million prize won by employees of The Guide at a store in Blades, Sussex County, in October 2004.

A $121.6 million jackpot was claimed from Selbyville, Sussex County, in December 2016.

Delaware Lottery players have hit that jackpot 10 times since 1993, with one $2 million winner and 10 $1 million prizes also being claimed.

Mega Millions is estimating their jackpot will sit at $1.02 billion, with a $602.5 million cash option, for Friday night's drawing. Tickets must be purchased by 9:45 p.m for the 10:58 p.m. selections.

LEDGEVIEW, Wis. (WLUK) -- A historic cemetery's riverfront property is becoming a problem, as erosion threatens to unearth the buried.

Over the years, the De Pere Greenwood Cemetery's riverfront property has become a bit of a problem June 12, 2023. (WLUK)

The De Pere Greenwood Cemetery sits on the banks of the Fox River, just south of the city of De Pere. Founded in 1859, it's the oldest non-denominational cemetery in Brown County and the final resting place for many well-known people and families from the area.

“Everyone here has a story to tell. Even Syble Hopp is buried here. The Lawtons are buried here. Wells Foundry is buried here," said Jewels Sowers, president of the De Pere Greenwood Cemetery Association. "We have schoolteachers, superintendents of East De Pere and the high school and of West De Pere. Walks of all faiths are all here."

Unlike other cemeteries that may be owned by a church or a community, De Pere Greenwood isn't owned by anyone. Those buried there are the landowners of their individual plots.

“Most cemeteries, you have the right to be buried there, but you do not own this," explained Sowers. "I kind of humorously say it's the least expensive riverfront property in the area."

Over the years, the riverfront property has become a bit of a problem, though. For decades, rain runoff has caused issues from the top of the hill -- and the river has deteriorated the soil from below.

“But it's been in the last 15 years or so that the mass of erosion has really happened on the shoreline," said Sowers.

That erosion has led to part of the hill falling into the river, leaving some vaults on the hillside of the cemetery exposed.

“We are losing hillside and shoreline in massive amounts. The upper corners there and there and have dropped this year about three feet, just straight down,” said Sowers.

Temporary fill has been used to help cover up some of the exposed vaults, but it's not a permanent fix for the more than 1,100 feet of shoreline.

“It will become an abandoned cemetery falling into the river," warned Sowers, "and that just shouldn't happen to this beautiful, historical cemetery.”

The De Pere Greenwood Cemetery Association, which manages the cemetery, had an engineering study done on the property. The engineers determined the riverbank needs to be stabilized, invasive species need to be brought under control, and woodland restoration and maintenance needs to take place.

All that work, which would be a permanent fix and ensure the integrity of the hillside, comes with a $2.5 million price tag. And since no one person or entity owns the cemetery, the cemetery association is looking to the community to help pay for it.

Click here for more information about donating to the De Pere Greenwood Cemetery Association.

“It's getting the word out," said Sowers. "That's the biggest thing -- getting the word out and people to realize how important this cemetery is to the community and how historical it is and how the erosion problem is such a problem to this river.”

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Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that Greenwood is the oldest non-denominational cemetery in Brown County, not the oldest of all cemeteries in the county.

After 14 years of street closures, periodic challenges by Secret Service agents exiting armored SUVs, barricades and pedestrian rerouting, a new normal is coming to the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and Hyde Park Boulevard.

Construction of a tree and shrub lined cul-de-sac permanently closing the 5000 block of S. Greenwood Ave. at E. Hyde Park Blvd. between KAM Isaiah Israel (KAM II) synagogue, President Barack Obama's house and the vacant lot on the northwest corner of the intersection is scheduled to start this spring, according to Prentice Butler, chief of staff to Ald. Sophia King (4th). (Butler is also a candidate for the City Council seat in the April 4th runoff election.)

"This proposal has been 4 years in the making," wrote Butler in an email to the Herald. "We have been working with residents to maintain the security protections in the area but provide something more aesthetically pleasing than the current jersey blocks that now exist on site."

In November of 2008, immediately following the presidential election, efforts to secure President Obama's Kenwood home and the adjacent streets began to the tune of more than $2.5 million, reported the Tribune. Neighbors soon became somewhat accustomed to convoys of black SUVs exiting Lake Shore Drive at 47th Street, moving west at rapid speeds along 47th, and then turning south onto Greenwood toward the President's home.

Tourism followed with busloads of people slowly driving east and west down the boulevard and 50th Street. A "Residential Traffic Only" sign was placed at the intersection of 50th and Greenwood. Eventually, someone inked a "P" on the sign so that it read "PResidential Traffic Only."

It was the prospect of tourist buses driving along Greenwood to view Obama's house that prompted the discussions leading to the planned cul-de-sac.

Cul-de-sacs have a somewhat checkered — and at times controversial — history in the urban landscape, changing traffic patterns, moving traffic from one part of a neighborhood to another. In 1993, the Tribune reported that then Mayor Richard M. Daley's proposal to put cul-de-sacs in a wide number of neighborhoods elicited a strong reaction from South Side residents. It prompted a listening session for States Attorney Jack O'Malley organized by then 5th Ward Alderman Larry Bloom, which was reported in the Herald.

About a year ago, King’s office initiated a series of virtual meetings with neighborhood residents, KAM II and the new owners of the lot adjacent to Obama’s house.

"(We recognized) that none of us, including KAM Isaiah Israel, wanted huge tour buses stopping at our front door or in front of the Obama's house with their motors running," said Kineret Jaffe, president of KAM II's board.

Jaffe added that conversations between King's office, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), residents of the 5000 block of S. Greenwood, KAM II and the owners of the vacant lot, who are in the process of getting permits to build a residence on the site, resulted in an agreement between CDOT and KAM II and the owners of the yet-to-be-built residence that they would help maintain the plantings.

"We've loved having the Obamas as neighbors across the street," said Jaffe. She added that she looks forward to working in KAM II's food gardens that line 51st Street in front of the synagogue and talking with tourists about the Obamas and KAM II's food justice program.