CAPE HENLOPEN, Del. - Following a $15 million capital improvement project funded by state bond bill appropriations, the Biden center in Lewes reopens. Construction began in January 2023 and was completed in the summer of 2024.
The updated facility now features a 90-person meeting room, classrooms, a catering kitchen, overnight accommodations and more.
Originally built in 1962 by the U.S. Navy as part of the Oceanic Research Station at Fort Miles, the center was acquired in 1996 with the help of then-U.S. Sen. Joe Biden and became part of Cape Henlopen State Park. Named in Biden vents before closing in 2013 for renovations.
DNREC says this building will be used for community workshops, training and community events. In the beginning of the event speakers kicked off the day started with DNREC secretary Shawn Garvin, Governor John Carney and capping off the event was the president's daughter Ashley Biden.
Biden presented a letter that the President wrote about the Center and Cape Henlopen State Park. President Biden began by explaining his love for the coast, "You are one of the finest seashore facilities along the Atlantic coast."