6 things in Middletown to look forward to in 2019

The News Journal

Note: This article has been updated to show the correct year the population is forecast to reach almost 113,000.

As new residents and businesses continue to flock to the Middletown area, town officials are looking forward to several big projects in 2019.

Middletown's population now tops 21,000 and the Delaware Population Consortium predicts that by 2030 the Middletown-Odessa area will have the largest population in the state with nearly 113,000 people.

The Town of Middletown continues to grow with major projects planned for 2019.

"There is a lot happening in Middletown," Middletown Mayor Ken Branner said. "We continue to attract new businesses and restaurants and there are whispers of other big things for the future."

A look ahead at some of the big things on tap for Middletown in 2019:

Delaware Sen. Stephanie Hansen, D-Middletown, talks to Diana Brown, the head of the New Castle County library system, about the new site of the Southern Library in Middletown. Hansen said area people would know right where the location on the corner of Main and Catherine streets would be if they are told it's the site of the Middletown Stonehenge.

New $24 million library planned for Middletown

Ground will be broken in 2019 for a new $24 million, 25,000-square-foot library.

County officials announced in October that the library will open sometime in 2021 on a portion of the Promenade property on Main (Del. 299) and Catherine streets near Silver Lake Elementary School.

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer said he is committed to expediting the project because people have been asking for it for years and because the area south of the C&D Canal is growing so quickly.

A combination of town, county, state and private funds will pay for the library design and construction. The state and county governments have each appropriated $5 million in capital funding to allow the project to move forward.

Middletown will be the site of newest New Castle County Southern Library

Electronic tolling will be in place on the new U.S. 301 road. Motorists traveling the 15-mile toll road won't have the option to pay with cash as All Electronic Tolling (AET) will be used for the first time in Delaware to collect tolls.

U.S. 301 Mainline toll road opening in January

Drivers using the new U.S. 301 Mainline toll road opening in January won't see tollbooths and won't have an option to pay cash on the roads.

Instead, if they don't have E-ZPass, they'll get a bill in the mail after their license plate is scanned by a machine.

The new $636 million road, which runs for 15 miles from Del. 1 to the Delaware/Maryland border, will usher in the future of tolling with a new All Electronic Tolling system.

'Toll-by-plate' means no cash option for commuters when U.S. 301 Mainline opens

Hope Cochran, right, a YMCA instructor talks with Glenn Phillippi of Townsend, during his LIVESTRONG workout at the Middletown YMCA.

Plans for new YMCA move forward

While the details are still being worked out for a new library to be built in Middletown, Branner said a property swap between the town and Appoquinimink School District for 20 acres on Brick Mill Road has paved the way for the brand new YMCA building.

Deborah Bagatta-Bowles, CEO of the YMCA of Delaware, said the temporary Middleton facility opened in January 2017 is the YMCA’s initial investment into the community. She said construction of a new $10 million-$12 million facility should be a reality in the coming years. Funds are already being put aside for that future project, she said.

Jamila Patton Anderson, director of public relations for the YMCA of Delaware, said details on the location, cost and timetable for the new YMCA will be released sometime in 2019.

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper and Delaware Gov. John Carney talk Wednesday in downtown Middletown about a $3.4 million federal grant to expand the Delaware Transit Corporation's Mid-County Maintenance Facility in Delaware City and to support an increased fleet of buses serving the Middletown area. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Nicole Majeski looks on.

Transportation projects pave way for growth

With the new 15-mile U.S. 301 Mainline toll road opening in January after two years of construction, other transportation projects will help accommodate Middletown's constant growth

A total of $3.4 million in federal funding will expand the Delaware Transit Corp.'s Mid-County Maintenance Facility in Delaware City, which will help support an increased fleet of buses serving Middletown and the southern part of the county.

A project to widen Del. 299 from Del. 1 to Catherine Street near downtown Middletown was announced last year and will begin in fall 2019 and last two years.

Millions in transportation projects converge in Middletown

More:Work to ease Middletown gridlock can't come soon enough for drivers

Shaun Kacsmar, a mechanic at Carey Diesel, Inc. works on repairing a diesel engine on a work truck.

DelTech diesel mechanic program on tap

Big news in Middletown also includes Delaware Technical Community College partnering with the town to open diesel mechanic technician and heavy equipment operator programs in the near future.

DelTech, Middletown partner to start diesel mechanic program

Rishen Patel stands by the sign announcing the opening of the hotel he and his family will open in 2019.

Middletown's second hotel to open in 2019

Middletown's second hotel is scheduled to open in 2019 as work on the 93-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel in the Westown area behind Grotto's Pizza on a 3.04-acre parcel in the MOT Auto Park nears completion.

Rishen Patel – who also owns Manhattan Bagels and will open a new Novus Escape Room in January – plan to open another restaurant after the completion of the hotel on the parcel's remaining land.

Middletown business owner looks for success in new Holiday Inn Express venture

Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.