Bear's Route 40 Corridor — Home Accessibility From a Contractor Who Knows These Homes

The Route 40 Corridor and Bear’s Diverse Housing Challenge

Bear is not a single neighborhood with a single housing type. It is a sprawling unincorporated community along the Route 40 corridor in southern New Castle County, stretching from the Route 7 and Route 40 interchange south toward Glasgow and east toward the Delaware Memorial Bridge approaches. The result is one of the most diverse residential landscapes in Delaware — bi-levels from the 1970s, split-levels from the 1980s, ranch homes from every decade, townhome developments from the 1990s, and two-story colonials in newer planned communities. Each decade of construction brought different floor plans, different materials, and different accessibility challenges.

That diversity is what makes aging in place in Bear both common and complicated. The retired couple in a 1975 bi-level on Old Baltimore Pike faces completely different barriers than the widow in a 2005 colonial in Fox Run Farms. The Vietnam veteran in a ranch home off Route 40 needs a different set of solutions than the family caring for a parent in a townhome at Governor’s Place. One contractor needs to understand them all, and that contractor needs a license to handle the structural work that this variety of housing inevitably requires.

Accessible Solutions serves the entire Bear community with every aging-in-place modification available: modular ramps with rental options starting at $300 per month, bathtub-to-shower conversions, roll-in showers, grab bars and handrails, stairlifts, platform lifts, doorway widenings, first-floor bedroom and bathroom additions, and durable medical equipment. Our Middletown headquarters is approximately 15 minutes south, placing Bear within our fastest response zone.

Bi-Levels and Split-Levels — Bear’s Signature Accessibility Problem

The bi-level and split-level homes that fill Bear’s older neighborhoods — along Old Baltimore Pike, Wrangle Hill Road, Red Lion Road, and the streets between Route 40 and Route 72 — are among the most challenging home styles to modify for aging in place. These designs were enormously popular with builders during the 1970s and 1980s because they maximized living space on modest lots by stacking half-floors rather than building outward.

A typical Bear bi-level places the front entry at a mid-level landing. From there, one half-flight of stairs leads up to the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms. Another half-flight leads down to the family room, laundry, and garage. There is no level of the home where a resident can access a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living area without climbing stairs.

A split-level adds further complexity — distributing living spaces across three or four staggered half-floors, each connected by short stairways of five to eight steps. The bedroom level may sit between the kitchen level and the attic level, with the family room a half-flight below the kitchen. Every functional transition in the home involves stairs.

Our approach to Bear’s bi-levels and split-levels combines multiple modifications into a cohesive plan. A stairlift on the main interior staircase connects the two primary living levels. A ramp at the front entry addresses the exterior steps. The upstairs bathroom gets converted from a standard tub-shower to a barrier-free shower with grab bars and a fold-down bench. For families who want to consolidate living to a single level, we evaluate whether the lower level can be converted into a complete living suite with a bedroom, accessible bathroom, and kitchenette — eliminating the need for stairs entirely.

Ranch Homes and the Everyday Barriers Nobody Notices

Bear’s ranch-style homes occupy the middle ground of the community’s housing stock — single-story houses built from the 1960s through the 1990s on lots along Route 40, Salem Church Road, and the side streets throughout the area. These homes offer the enormous advantage of having everything on one floor. No stairs between the bedroom and the bathroom. No second floor to reach.

But that advantage obscures real barriers. The bathroom in a 1970s Bear ranch has a combination tub-shower with a fiberglass surround, a 16-inch step-over wall, and a 28-inch doorway. The front entry has three concrete steps and an aluminum railing that wobbles when weight is applied. The back door has a sliding glass panel on a track with a two-inch threshold at the bottom. The hallway between the bedroom wing and the living area is 32 inches wide — passable with a walker but impossible with a standard wheelchair.

These are not dramatic barriers. They are mundane features of ordinary construction that collectively make a home unsafe for an aging occupant. Our modifications for Bear ranch homes are equally practical. A bathroom conversion that removes the tub and installs a zero-threshold shower takes three to four days and eliminates the most dangerous daily activity in the home. A ramp at the front entry takes one to two days and restores independent exterior access. Grab bars throughout the home install in a single visit and reduce fall risk at every transition point.

Townhome Communities and Attached-Unit Challenges

Bear’s newer developments include multiple townhome and attached-housing communities — Governor’s Place, Village of Hampton, Linden Pointe, and others built from the 1990s through the 2010s. These homes present a modification profile distinct from detached single-family housing.

Townhomes in Bear typically have three levels: a ground-floor garage or foyer, a second-level living area with kitchen and living room, and a third level with bedrooms and bathrooms. Every trip from the bedroom to the kitchen to the garage involves two full flights of stairs. Exterior entries face shared walkways or courtyard-style approaches that limit ramp configuration options. And homeowners association rules may impose constraints on exterior modifications that affect the community’s appearance.

We navigate these complexities for Bear families regularly. Interior stairlifts connect the bedroom level to the living level. Compact ramp systems at the front entry use side-entry or L-shaped configurations that fit within the available space without encroaching on neighboring units or common walkways. We coordinate with HOA management when required and design exterior modifications that satisfy both accessibility needs and community appearance standards.

Fifteen Minutes From Our Middletown Headquarters

Bear’s proximity to our Middletown headquarters provides a tangible advantage for local families. Our warehouse at 37 South Main Street in Middletown stocks modular ramp sections, bathroom conversion materials, grab bar hardware, stairlift components, and durable medical equipment ready for deployment. At 15 minutes away, Bear addresses receive some of our fastest scheduling and response times.

When Christiana Hospital or the Wilmington VA Medical Center discharges a Bear resident who needs immediate home modifications, we can mobilize within days. A rental ramp at the front entry provides same-week exterior access. Grab bars can be installed the day of the assessment in straightforward situations. This responsiveness is possible because materials are staged locally, not ordered from a distant supplier.

Funding Accessibility Work in Bear

Delaware’s DSHP+ Medicaid waiver provides significant coverage for home accessibility modifications. Bear families enrolled in the program can use these benefits for bathroom conversions, ramp installations, grab bars, doorway widenings, and other structural modifications. We are a certified Medicaid provider and manage all authorization and billing.

Veterans in the Bear community — and there are many given the area’s proximity to military installations and the Wilmington VA — may qualify for VA HISA grants covering additional accessibility work. Medicare covers durable medical equipment. And for families funding work privately, we offer CareCredit financing and other lending options.

Ray Petkevis personally assesses every Bear home. He walks the property, identifies every barrier, evaluates every funding option, and delivers a recommendation tailored to your home’s construction and your family’s needs. That visit is free, honest, and carries no obligation. For Bear families, it can usually be scheduled within a day or two of your call.