Delaware State University reached an agreement with K.W. Lands, LLC to lease the Sheraton Dover Hotel.
The Sheraton, located off DuPont Highway, about a quarter-mile north of the campus – will provide the university with residential space for students as DSU renovates existing dormitories on campus, according to a release.
The facility will also provide the university with space as other buildings are renovated in the future, as well as a possible site for its future Early College High School. The high school has been approved by the Delaware Department of Education.
The university has entered into a $12 million, 15-year lease agreement with the owners of the Sheraton with an option to buy any time after the end of the second year.
During its regular meeting on June 13, the DSU Board of Trustees authorized university officials to move ahead in finalizing the lease agreement. The effective date of the lease agreement is expected to be no later than July 27.
DSU President Harry L. Williams said DSU’s growth in enrollment and programs is expected to continue, and the opportunity to lease and possibly purchase the Sheraton Hotel will give DSU greater flexibility in its future housing renovations and other program needs.
“We are putting a plan in place to upgrade our residential halls with needed maintenance as well as install amenities that are expected by today’s students.” Williams said. “As we move forward with those plans, this hotel facility will become a university housing facility where students can reside while residential halls are taken off-line for renovation work to be done.”
The negotiations with the owners of the Sheraton were led on behalf of the University by Amir Mohammadi, DSU executive vice president and University treasurer.
Claibourne D. Smith, DSU Board of Trustees chairman, said the lease/purchase agreement is consistent with the future direction of the university.
“The opportunities that the Sheraton property affords us are in line with our current vision statement as well as our emerging strategic and master plans for the coming decade,” Smith said. “It is a public/private partnership which will be a win-win for DSU, the city of Dover and Kent County, as its will expand DSU’s presence as an educational destination.”
The hotel is a popular meeting and conference center in Dover, but has faced stiff competition from the hotel at Dover Downs. Delaware State University has made a series of moves aimed at boosting enrollment and capitalizing on its strengths that including freezing the price of tuition.
Th 135,500-square foot Sheraton Hotel sits on a 6½-acre property and contains 153 rooms and 15 meeting/conference rooms.
Hotel rooms are in short supply during two NASCAR weekends each year in Dover and for the upcoming Firefly Music Festival. During such events, travelers book hotels in Newark, the beach and other areas.
