it's about time we started a wilmington thread. thee are plenty of delawareans here that we can keep this alive.

here's an article from the news journal concerning a new building going up at the corner of 2nd & king streets. this is a nie looking building, and should make wilmington look a lot nicer.

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/03/20crystaltowertor.html

and here is the article if you odn't want to click on the link:

Cesar Pelli, an internationally acclaimed architect, has been hired to design an office tower for Wilmington's Christina Gateway.

Pelli says his vision for Wilmington's skyline will be similar to Philadelphia's new Cira Centre, a building he designed with facets like a piece of quartz crystal.

"It will be quite crystalline," Pelli said.

Other well-known Pelli designs include the tapering Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that were until recently the world's tallest buildings. The Pelli firm also designed the International Finance Centre in Hong Kong, the tallest building in that city.

For local architects and architectural historians, a design by a "starchitect" like Pelli could mean a significant step forward for the city's skyline, which some say has suffered from stuffy, corporate architecture. An architect of Pelli's stature hasn't designed a building in Wilmington since 1964, when I.M. Pei was hired to design a 22-story concrete tower at 12th and Market streets.

"This will raise the bar, set a new standard," said David L. Ames, director of the Center for Historic Architecture and Design at the University of Delaware. "It says something about Wilmington that people are willing to invest and take a risk and build something daring."

Cara Battaglini, spokeswoman for the American Institute of Architects, said a building by a major architect, such as Pelli, has the power to energize a city. When a developer or company hires a starchitect, it's usually because the client is looking for a statement building, architects said. Usually a signature project means the cost of the architect's services will be higher, architects said.

"It will pay off," she said. "Quality architecture drives further development, it brings people to a street nobody has walked down before and it adds to the quality of life."

Pelli and his firm Cesar Pelli & Associates of New Haven, Conn., are designing a 17- to 20-floor office building for client Brandywine Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. The 1.75-acre building site at the northeast corner of Second and King streets is in the Christina Gateway, an area targeted for redevelopment by the city and state in 1986. The original gateway revitalization project involved approximately 11 acres near the Amtrak station and the Christina River.

Brandywine Realty bought the parcel for $5.1 million in February from the Christina Gateway Corp., a city and state entity whose mission was to carry out an ambitious renewal project that called for four office towers and a riverfront marketplace. Of the original plans, only two office towers have been erected so far - Three Christina Centre, which was followed by One Christina Centre. Major tenants in the Gateway are JPMorgan Chase & Co. and American Express Credit Corp.

Some of the land owned by Gateway was converted to parkland. With the sale to Brandywine Realty, Gateway is now out of the land-holding business. Brandywine Realty owns the other two office towers in the gateway.

The publicly traded real estate investment trust has experience with Pelli. It hired him to design a 29-floor building next to Amtrak's 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. The $177.6 million glass building now under construction - and called the Cira Centre - has created a lot of buzz in the city for its adventurous design.

Pelli, an Argentinian-born designer, was given the AIA Gold Medal award in 1995 - the highest honor given to an individual for work that has lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.

Other gold medal winners include architectural giants such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and I.M. Pei.

Building boom

Gerald H. Sweeney, chief executive of Brandywine Realty, said his company hired Pelli because it wants a "world-class building" in downtown Wilmington.

"Wilmington is a very positive, dynamic environment," Sweeney said.

Wilmington is enjoying a building boom, with at least $300 million in commercial projects announced, started or completed within the past 18 months.

Brandywine Realty has grown to be a significant property owner in the city in recent years. Besides the gateway buildings, the company acquired One Rodney Square and 300 Delaware Ave. in downtown Wilmington when it bought $600 million in office properties from the Rubenstein Co. of Philadelphia last year. Altogether, it owns 300 buildings in Delaware, the Philadelphia area and southern and central New Jersey.

Todd T. Breck, president of AIA Delaware, the local chapter of the national architects group, praised Brandywine Realty for its willingness to spend the money on a renowned architect.

"I take my hat off to them. To bring in a starchitect will up the ante - make Wilmington more viable in the eyes of the business community both nationally and internationally," Breck said. "It may be a forerunner for other clients to allow architects to be a lot more playful."

Joseph E. Carbonell III, chairman of Moeckel Carbonell Associates Inc. in Wilmington, which will work with Pelli as the executive architect on the new building, said the tower will be a "beacon" for downtown Wilmington.

Richard V. Pryor, director of the city's Office of Economic Development and a director of Christina Gateway Corp., said he has been so impressed with the design of Philadelphia's Cira Centre and how it is positioned on the skyline, he welcomes something similar in Wilmington.

"It could be a signature building in the positive sense of the word," Pryor said.

Big-name projects

Major international architectural firms have designed buildings in Wilmington since Pei designed the rough concrete tower in the brutalist style four decades ago.

Kohn Pederson Fox Associates in New York, for example, designed the Hercules Plaza, the headquarters for Hercules Inc. at 13th and Market that opened in 1983. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Chicago designed the Chase Manhattan Centre at 12th and Market streets, which opened in 1988.

While both of those firms are considered in the same league with Cesar Pelli & Associates, the architects that worked on the Wilmington projects did not have the celebrity status of Pei or Pelli, architectural historians said.

W. Barksdale Maynard, author of the soon-to-be published "Buildings of Delaware," said the influence of the DuPont Co. probably contributed to a city of primarily conservative architecture. Such work served as a symbol of the company's low-key culture, he said. The banks gravitated to the classical-style banking temples designed to convey security and safety, while Colonial Revival was the style of choice for the educational and government buildings in the state.

"I think Delaware's architecture as a whole is very tame. Statewide, it's surprisingly monotonous. Generally speaking, there's very little interesting modernism," Maynard said.

Breck agrees.

"Wilmington has been provincial. It's been a very conservative town," he said.

As part of the design process, Pelli said, he had to consider other structures near the site, including the train station designed by the noted Philadelphia architect, Frank Furness, in the early 1900s.

In many ways, the site is not unlike the location of the Cira Centre in Philadelphia in that it is a gateway location near a train station, said Mark R. Shoemaker, associate principal with Pelli. He said the firm is now looking at the area to see how the building will relate to the neighborhood. It is also considering all the various views of the skyline, including the view from I-95 and the train.

Shoemaker promises a daring design that will be "fresh and exciting."

"But it won't be 'Son of Cira,' " he said.

here is a rendition of the building:

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/03/images/143313.jpg

I'm kinda pissed they downsized the building. Nonetheless, it's great news!

cool tower. :)

I'm kinda pissed they downsized the building. Nonetheless, it's great news!

how big was it supposed to be?

22-24. Still, at 500,000 sf it is about 70 percent the size of Cira, which is still decent.

it's decent, but i also would've liked it a little bigger. my opinion for any city is that a bigger skyline means a bigger city (or at least a more prosperous and important city). a taller and bigger building would make the city look a little more important to people passing through on i-95.

I don't know if anyone else feels the same but at this point I think to recreate a similiar building, already under construction in philly and scale it dwn for wilmington is pretty damn tacky. Not to mention the fact that the shape resembles the first bank one bulding (soon to be renamed Chase) already in place with it's peaking roofline..Come on Wilmington if we're foinf to be "inspiring" and fresh lets go all out with a design no other city has.

Builder...

This was proposed in the same time in which Cira Cente was. Because of the slower nature of Wilmington's skyscraper construction, Cira Centre was, of course, built first.

Since then, the construction/design firm has been rethinking this project. It is no longer appropriate to view that illustration which is is rendered on above posts.

Because of the Cira Centre, there is an emphasis on differing this building from the Cira Centre. It will still, in most opinions, be quite similar to the building, but will most probably be a bit different than Cira Centre in Philly. For sake, Cira Centre is only 20 miles away from Two Christina Centre.

I am excited to see with what they come up. Even without this building, the skyline still we be very much affected by Gateway Plaza in uptown, with the Renaissance Centre at 4th and Market, the AAA building on the riverfront, the ING complex being built also on the riverfront, the Renaissance Centre on 4th and Market, the retail complex on 2nd and Market, the 22 story apts on "A" street, and the 24 story condo on south market street. This is beside the new hotel complex on the riverfront, the new casino south of the CBD, and whatever they will decide to do on that MASSIVE 7th Street Peninsula Project.

Wilmington wasn't rated the most economically secure MSA in the nation for nothing. It holds its' own.

Wilmington wasn't rated the most economically secure MSA in the nation for nothing. It holds its' own.

where did you see this? this is pleasant news to me.

CNN. It isn't highest standard of living, cause of crime, obviously. It's because we have N.E. Salaries with all the bankers, pharmaceutical people, lawyers, etc.. yet we have no sales tax, stuff is cheap, low property values.

This all leads to lots of money, and jobs, yet really low expenses and relative cost of living. NYers make a lot but pay alot for everything. Central Virginians make less money but yet pay less money.

Wilmington-Newark has TONS of jobs and money, while shit is dirt cheap here. Best of both worlds. How many Lexuses (Lexi?) BMWs Mercedes and Acuras do you see around here. I notice this as I travel. Hockessin and Pike Creek are in the top 20 in areas with the largest homes..

Too bad Delaware is so utterly boring or we'd be set. (Bows to Philly and NYC)

BTW: This is the latest rendering of CL since they upped the condo to 24. They're closer than I expected.
http://www.midatlantic.construction.com/images/0503_Site-Draft5.jpg

Oh yeah.. and on 4th and King there's a billboard with this building on, coming 2006.
http://www.ci.wilmington.de.us/mayorpress/images/041129_renaissancecentre_1.jpg
There are white papers on all the business windows. The block has totally evacuated and is ready for the destruct.

I drove north to philly today and couldnt help but notice the new building going up near the Blue Rocks stadium area..
What building is that?

Which one?
http://www.addresswilmington.com/aaaweststreet.JPG or http://www.addresswilmington.com/2-19-apttower-marketside.JPG?

First is new AAA Mid-Atlantic HQ. Second is the smaller of the Christina Landing Residential jauns.

Photos courtesy M. Glanden www.addresswilmington.com

I think it was the 2nd one.. you can see it really well from 495. Thanks!

Which one?
www.addresswilmington.com

i never knew about that site. that guy has some great pictures. i am looking at the scenery pictures in the "greater wilmington" section, and they are spectacular!

I really like this shot of Christina Landing

http://img168.exs.cx/img168/1953/landingfromleft2ku.jpg

How do you make a sticky?

Argggggggh DON'T TAKE 495 North. It takes longer. 95 is better north thru the city with a better view. 495 is better going south, as 95 south thru the city always jams up.

I never understood this. The last time Wilmington annexed land was when it was bigger than Phoenix (1800s). There have been some bullshit wasteland annexes, but we need this so the city (72,000) can rightfully claim some of it's metro (618,000, 2003 est.)

Wilmington News Journal 3/23/05
Minner wants to let Wilmington grow
Governor thinks letting city bypass county, state would help solve financial bind
By CHIP GUY and ADAM TAYLOR / The News Journal
03/23/2005
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said Tuesday she wants state lawmakers to give Wilmington the same authority as other towns to annex adjoining land, something city officials have long said they need to grow, bring in jobs and remain solvent.

Minner said annexation power could help Wilmington dig out of a financial bind that could lead to a budget deficit of $15 million by 2009.

"They see it as that, and we're willing to work with them on that," Minner said. Greg Patterson, Minner's spokesman, said the city will "be a little better able to control their destiny."

Mayor James M. Baker said city leaders were happy to hear about Minner's idea, but said the city still needs $15 million a year from the state to avert projected seven-figure deficits in the coming years.

City officials questioned how much annexation powers would help the city because most contiguous areas are developed. County neighborhoods already have a suburban identity that residents would resist changing. Businesses probably wouldn't volunteer to become part of Wilmington because of higher property taxes and a 1.25 percent wage tax.

"It would have been great to have this power after World War II, when the city's water system was still expanding and it would have been easier to acquire newly developing land," said Baker's chief of staff, William S. Montgomery.

Wilmington now is the only municipality in the state that must win county and state approval of annexation requests. Those limits were put in place in the early 1970s, when the city tried to forcibly annex the DuPont Co.'s Experimental Station property. The need for state approval was added later.

The changes, which Minner will include in a more extensive anti-sprawl bill, will not allow Wilmington - or any other town - to annex land against the wishes of the owners. The process can only happen when land owners - or a majority of owners of a large parcel - petition to be annexed.

Minner said the issue boils down to fairness - Wilmington should be allowed to operate under the same annexation rules as Middletown, Bridgeville or Smyrna. At the same time, Minner's bill would give the state more power to reject annexation plans by any municipality that did not mesh with state growth blueprints.

Still, some state legislators and New Castle County Council members said they oppose the Minner plan. Wilmington's well-being should not come at the expense of the county's property tax base, they said.

House Speaker Terry Spence, R-Stratford, and Majority Leader Rep. Wayne A. Smith, R-Clair Manor, said the idea is sure to cause a stir of discussion and debate.

"I don't personally have a problem with it," Spence said. But Smith lawmakers and constituents who live in neighboring suburbs might, which could hurt Minner's bill in the House.

'Correct a wrong'

Rep. Hazel D. Plant, D-Wilmington Central, said she hopes state lawmakers do the right thing and help a struggling city.

"It would help the city of Wilmington tremendously," Plant said. "Wilmington is the biggest city the state has. But all the other towns in the state have all kinds of annexation powers. The city doesn't have anything."

Senate Majority Leader Harris B. McDowell III, D-Wilmington North, said he supports the idea, but doesn't think it will help Wilmington all that much.

"Symbolically, it's a wonderful gesture, trying to correct a wrong of the past," McDowell said. "But I think it's too late."

New Castle County Executive Chris Coons was not available for comment, but Council President Paul Clark, a Democrat, said he has been a longtime advocate of giving Wilmington the ability to annex.

"It's fair," he said. "The city is our heart, it's the heart of all of Delaware. If it's not a vibrant place, we're not going to attract jobs."

Robert Weiner, a Republican from Brandywine Hundred, disagreed. He said the county should not be forced to lose tax base to benefit the city.

A host of opposition

Weiner and other county officials, particularly former County Executive Thomas Gordon, have opposed several requests by Wilmington in the last 10 years to annex small parcels for economic development.

City officials said they might be interested in some adjoining undeveloped areas, such as brownfields near South Wilmington. In his vision plan released last year, Baker said he would like to create a recreational/education complex that could annex some properties just over the city line.

There also are some enclaves of the county that are almost completely surrounded by land that is in the city. Residents and business owners there could be enticed to request annexation with an offer of quicker police and fire responses, Montgomery said. An example of such an area is the Miller Road Shopping Center.

Wilmington offered grants to ShopRite grocery store officials last year to get them to locate there, on the condition that the company would come into the city. Ultimately, Home Depot decided to locate on that land and remain in the county, Rago said.

"Even if a change is made in the law, you still have to have a willing property owner," Montgomery said.

From 1988 to 1998, three tracts along the Christina Riverfront were annexed by the city during the time the area was planned for redevelopment. State officials were behind the Riverfront project.

Staff reporter Adam Taylor contributed to this article. Contact Chip Guy at 856-7373 or cguy@delawareonline.com.

just wanted to throw in some information about annexing land. i believe the last time a large portion of land was annexed in wilmington was around 1910. the land that was annexed was along the delaware river, specifically cherry island and the surrounding area. this are was annexed because as wilmington's waterfront was reaching saturation, wilmington officials knew that not growing pretty much means letting other cities pass you by. so cherry island and the surrounding land was annexed so that a huge industrial park and port could be built on the delaware river. by putting these things on the delaware river, wilmington could begin to grow into a huge city like philadelphia. a port on the delaware would be much greater and would be able to handle more work than a port on the christina river. as for the industrial park, it would benefit because the delaware river had better accessibility, and so the accessibility would mean lower costs for businesses to ship goods (or send them by rail, which could've been done on the railroad that paralleled the christina and delaware rivers), which would mean lower overall costs, which would result in more successful businesses. alas, something went wrong (not sure what; no more funds, no commitment from businesses, or something like that; i will read up on it and find out again), and the industrial area never came to be.

just a little bit of wilmington history.

Yeah, that wasteland annexation I talked about may have helped the city in some ways. Besides the sewage crises experienced by Wilmington in the 'teens, that annexation did nothing in the way of significant business production, and/or residential increase.

Sure, Cherry Island developed into a mighty fine landfill.

See how much farther Baltimore goes past their city grid into the slightly less-dense urban areas of their metros, and compare that with Wilmington's abrupt limits which extend practically no further than to where Ben Franklin designed our own city grid.

Wilmington deserves to have claimed Richardson Park, Elsmere, Greenville, Edgemoor, and about half of New Castle as its own.

Because of that, our population is still next to nothing. The city is still a minute blip on a national map instead of the regional location it should have been.

Argggggggh DON'T TAKE 495 North. It takes longer. 95 is better north thru the city with a better view. 495 is better going south, as 95 south thru the city always jams up.

That may be true.. but traffic in the morning can make 95 north not a very good option either
you rarely ever have backups on 495.

Jayson... Did I forget to mention I haven't been up before 11 a.m. in a good many years? Forgot bout morning rush. I just love the view.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th007.jpg

How many square miles in Wilmington?

11 sq. Miles. 72,000 Pop. 620,000+ Metro
1874
http://store1.yimg.com/I/snapshotsofthepast_1827_11188032
130 Years later
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/wilmterra3.jpg

So heres a question for you guys.. what is it like to live in Wilimington? Do any of you actually live in Wilmington or just the surrounding area? Are there any nice neighborhoods in the city that are akin to Federal Hill, Fells Point, or Canton in Baltimore..

I've driven through parts that look like nice urban neighborhoods and wondered what it was like to live there..

Moved out of the city 2 years ago- lived there for 20 years.
I'm coming up with a thread of pics- here a few Miscellaneous Pics of Wilm:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th067.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th049.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th040.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th039.jpg
...more to come!

an article in today's paper about a possible casino on the 7th street peninsula.

A Delaware group is proposing a more than $300 million gambling and entertainment playground for 50 acres on Wilmington's Seventh Street Peninsula.

The project, called Diamond Casino Resort, would include up to 4,000 slot machines in several themed settings, a 400-room hotel, dinner theater, restaurants, shops and a public marina.

Legislation that would allow the opening of a casino not related to a racetrack is being drafted and is expected to be introduced next month. The 1994 law that legalized slot machines in Delaware tied gambling to the state's horse-racing tracks. The stated purpose of the law was to save the horse-racing industry.

The project promises to bring 2,000 jobs to the city by creating a regional entertainment attraction known in the industry as "casinos-plus," according to the developer, Diamond Entertainment Group LLC of Wilmington. The developers said they have not yet estimated revenue or overall economic impact from the project.

The developers are modeling the resort project after the Mohegan Sun gaming and entertainment venue in Uncasville, Conn. They are promoting the project as a way to combat the coming competition from slots in Pennsylvania and, possibly, Maryland. Plans are already in the works for a Harrah's casino and racetrack in Chester, Pa., about 15 miles from Wilmington.

"It's a question of maintaining competitiveness in the expanding mid-Atlantic market," said Mark Kleinschmidt, president of MAK Associates in New Castle and operations manager for the Diamond Entertainment Group. "We need to upgrade our gaming legislation and move into a second generation of video lottery terminal operations."

Political observers and gaming experts said the project is likely to escalate the public policy debate about the expansion of legalized gambling beyond the original purpose of the 1994 law.

I. Nelson Rose, a professor at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, Calif., and an expert in gaming law, said most states don't take the offensive when facing competition from other states. They only open casinos after they begin to lose revenues to other states, he said.

"Once the racinos open in Pennsylvania, the gaming revenues in Delaware are going to drop dramatically," Rose said.

Diamond Entertainment has estimated a loss of more than $130 million in general fund revenue if both Pennsylvania and Maryland legalize gambling. Delaware receives about $190 million a year from gambling, about 8 percent of the state's operating budget.

Still, the developers are likely to see intense opposition from gaming venues at Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway.

"It's not Diamond Casino Resort that's going to kill the racinos. It's Philadelphia that's going to cream their business," said Claire M. DeMatteis, the lawyer and lobbyist for Diamond Entertainment.

Changed climate

DeMatteis said that, unlike 2003 when Delaware Program LLC proposed a $50 million hotel and casino on the Christina River at Walnut and A streets, the political and economic landscape has changed dramatically. The city desperately needs the additional revenues a casino resort would bring, she said.

Besides wage and property taxes paid to the city by a major entertainment development, the proposed legislation would dedicate a percentage of revenues to the city. No estimates have been made regarding the amount of money the city would receive, she said.

Mayor James M. Baker indicated last week in a letter to Gov. Ruth Ann Minner that some proceeds from gambling - either from the existing venues or through a new casino in the city - would be welcome.

Diamond Entertainment will meet with Merrill Lynch executives from New York next week to discuss project financing, DeMatteis said.

Developers reach out

To sweeten the pot, Diamond Entertainment is trying to be inclusive. One of the two principals in Diamond Entertainment - Sussex Entertainment Enterprises LLC - proposed a racino in Georgetown last year.

Sussex Entertainment Enterprises principals include Ronald E. Schafer of Wilmington, Stephen S. Silver of Wilmington and Constantine F. Malmberg III of Dover.

The other principal in Diamond Entertainment is Peninsula Ventures LLC, which includes David G. Bull of Greenville, Andrew J. Aerenson of Wilmington, David Grayson of Delaware County, Pa., and Thomas B. Payne of Kennett Square, Pa.

Diamond Entertainment also has asked two other developers of proposed casinos in Wilmington to join it in the 120,000-square-foot casino building. The idea is to create a casino with different themed areas and a different mix of gaming machines under one roof.

In 2003, Delaware Program LLC proposed a 2,000-slot casino. Legislation was introduced in 2004, but it never got out of the gaming committee, said H. Hunter Lott III, a partner in Delaware Program. Lott said his group is discussing the peninsula project with Diamond Entertainment.

"I think the proposal they've got is a very exciting opportunity not only for gaming, but as an overall mid-Atlantic entertainment destination," Lott said.

Diamond Entertainment also has contacted a Maryland developer who in 2001 expressed an interest in a riverboat dinner theater with gambling. The developer, Kim Klopcic, owner of the Yin Yankee Cafe in Annapolis, Md., did not return phone calls Monday.

DeMatteis said the peninsula developers plan to introduce legislation called the Video Lottery Competitiveness Act in April. It would create "entertainment zones" for slot machine gambling outside the racetrack venues. The entertainment zones would be located in economically distressed areas ripe for redevelopment.

In addition, the bill would relax restrictions on the location of video lottery terminals so that they could be placed closer to hotels. The legislation would expand operating hours for casinos and relax restrictions on customer amenities, such as bonuses for food, beverages and rooms.

Plans for the Diamond Casino Resort call for the casino to be operated by a national casino operator. The developers said they are already in discussions with several.

Bridging the gap

Diamond Entertainment also is proposing a bridge to the peninsula from the 12th Street exit of I-495. The group is exploring the possibility of public-private financing for the bridge.

If the bill were to pass during this legislative session, work on the casino could begin as early as July. The casino could open by late 2006.

Other development on the peninsula would be phased in over time.

The Three Little Bakers Dinner Theatre in Pike Creek Valley has expressed interest in the proposed dinner theater on the peninsula.

"We think that the group's concept is so exciting - everything they're doing is so spectacular and the city will benefit. You can't help but get excited. We're definitely considering our options," said Victoria Immediato Winton, president of Three Little Bakers.

Besides the casino building, the first phase calls for 350,000 square feet of retail and restaurants. The complex is designed to have a marina and ferry terminal so that visitors could arrive by boat. There also would be a public marina with 50 to 60 slips.

A second phase could include 200 to 250 waterfront condominiums, a 7,000-seat covered arena and a second hotel.


http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/03/images/146185.jpg

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/03/29developerspitch.html

what happens when this little casino trend dies out..lol

I am torn on if this is a good idea or not..
Personally I'd love to see that area developed but I do not think Wilmington needs to become another Atlantic City. From the sound of things they want to do this up like the glitziest casinos around and I'm not sure thats really what the city needs..
just my humble opion

i feel the same way. the casino market is becoming saturated, and it will be very hard for a wilmington casino to set itself apart from other casinos in the region and in the country, such as atlantic city, foxwoods, turning stone, etc. as it is, i go to atlantic city for some quick gambling because it's the #2 place in the country for it, and if i want to make a really big deal out of it and make it a true vacation, i go to las vegas, which is far and away the best place to go. the only way i see wilmington benefiting is if there are people in philly, baltimore, etc that want to cut an hour off of their drive and/or don't want to pay the tolls on the ace.

Simply Hilarious, builder. This prolly is just a trend. I've never looked at that in this light. The only reason I am for the project, is that it is in a tucked away part of the city behind eastside. Don't think it would matter to me if it failed or not. Nobody goes thru that part of the city anyway - it's majorly excluded.

what did you guys think of the national geographic article in the february 2005 edition of zip code 19886? i thought it was okay, but i would've rather had more history about wilmington and about our business history instead of the sob stories about people in debt.

what did you guys think of the national geographic article in the february 2005 edition of zip code 19886? i thought it was okay, but i would've rather had more history about wilmington and about our business history instead of the sob stories about people in debt.

I felt the article put a HUGE banking/credit card stamp on the city. This is a good thing. It could have been an article showing many, many worse things about the city - face it, we definitely don't have the size or skyline of Philly, hence Wilmington has really one current superlative: Credit Card capitol. (sp)

I thought it was a neat story, didn't anybody else?

i think it reinforced that wilmington is a major player in our country's business world, which is a good thing. but i think they could've talked more about the city and less about the stupid things people did with their credit cards.

True Matt, but we still have this:

Most Financially Fit Large Metropolitan Area in U.S. - Wilmington-Newark MSA (http://education.incharge.org/press_releases/73)

Pretty impressive considering our ghettos, but apparently we lead San Fran, Boston and NYC in this report.

I was down in Lynchburg, VA about a year ago for my brother's wedding. There were a bunch of 18 year olds drooling over this rare car (to them,) That small Lexus SUV. Somebody asked me if I didn't like the car, I answered "There's like 10 on the road at one time up in Delaware, I'm sick of looking at them." "I know a Mexican who owns one"

If you can figure out how to paste that, Matt, you should "rub their noses in it" to the other city discussion forumers' for this city they haven't even heard of but send all their money to..

Heh Heh Heh..

great article/chart. next time someone talks trash about wilmington or any part of delaware, i'll just have to let them know that we are the most fiscally secure and stable city in the nation. if only everyone could know about this information; maybe then our city would be a national "player" in the eyes of others (right up there with the big boys like new york, chicago, l.a., and other business hubs).

Wilmington still has a ways to go...I think it gets talked so much trash on because it's not a fun city..It's known as a business sector, which is the very thing that the officials are trying to work on. As we all know these things take time and wont happen overnight, even if u get a glitzy casino (lol)

HaHa Builder. It's not the size of your city, but how it does. Don't say fiscally tho.. Financially Fit it has more to do with the metro than the city itself. But to the contrary of some's beliefs, Wilmington IS the city, and Newark is the College town of the city. Not the other city.

I'm soon gonna post pics of the neighborhoods. Lemme know what u think of them.

some pictures i took of wilmington during the winter.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=174421

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=174429

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=176362

I posted this on SSP -Figured I would put it on the thread.


All pics except downtown are on the west side of the city

95 North - my own personal racetrack
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th002.jpg

Huuuuge Skyline, eh?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th011.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th014.jpg

Christina Landing between the Market St. Bridge
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th015.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th019.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th026.jpg

I definitely hit the curb on this one.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st004.jpg

It's fat, it's ugly.. I love it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st015.jpg

My Dentist's office - Jefferson Street
Trinity Vicinity/Quaker Hill
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st013.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st010.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st009.jpg

Luxury Cars.. Purely Luxurious.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st008.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st007.jpg
..Just can't have anything nice in this area.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th032.jpg

4th Street - Me old Neighborhood
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st017.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th039.jpg

Little ITALY
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st018.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st020.jpg

Just don't piss Harry off.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st023.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st025.jpg

Union Street - Cutting people off.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st026.jpg

Like Provolone on Pizza? No? Neither did the signmaker.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th048.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th049.jpg

Rowhomes painted on a rowhome.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th050.jpg

Drugville, Daddio
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st030.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st032.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st033.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st034.jpg
Oddly, I doubt they're handicapped.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st035.jpg

What's for breakfast.. hmm... CRACK.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st037.jpg

Polska hood
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st038.jpg

Wilmington General, where I was born, used to be here.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st039.jpg
This place sold me alcohol at 14.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st041.jpg

Playtime
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st042.jpg

Good Olde Trolley Square
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st003.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th066.jpg

Kentmere Parkway
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st001.jpg

Rockford
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th074.jpg

Damn this Atkins. I would kill for a kake.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th085.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonMarch24th087.jpg

Pennsylvania Ave
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st022.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st060.jpg

Gibraltar
This place is paradise in Summer. I gotta get some more pics.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st043.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st044.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st045.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st046.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st047.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st048.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st049.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st050.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st051.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st052.jpg

The Highest Point in Wilmington - Hence the name Gibraltar.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st053.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st059.jpg

I never thought Wilimington had all this!

here are some pictures of old swedes' church in wilmington that i or someone in my family took last week when i went there with relatives from buffalo. old swedes' church is the oldest church in the united states that has been continuously used. it was built in 1698.

more pictures to come on another day.

a couple of the stained glass windows.

http://img119.exs.cx/img119/8396/10007071qv.jpg

http://img119.exs.cx/img119/1927/10007096xp.jpg

the swedish style of building with stone. the swedes used smaller stones in between larger stones. the english tend to use only larger stones. there are parts of the church built in the english style (i don't have any pictures of it though), such as a porch and whatnot. the original structure is in the swedish style.

http://img119.exs.cx/img119/7868/10007115xt.jpg

when i figure out how to resize and/or cut off the "crust" of some of the pictures, i will post them also.

*ya W n...

Has anyone heard any news about the cap they wanted to put over 95 through Wilmington that's similir to that of the penns landing idea? btw check out the pic if u've not seen this :-p
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/jayr05/vision.jpg

Just a rendering I found of the constructed Architects Headquarters that are in charge of alot of the development in the old "brown friends" of wilmington. I like the design and the parking under the elevated building (also a safeguard for flooding being along the river...talk about smart)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/jayr05/BucciniHQ.jpg

That over 95 thing is purely a vision concept.

when the christina river redevelopment plans were made back in the mid-1990s, there were plans to make an extra exit from i-95 that would be just south of the baseball stadium and would go next to the shipyard shops, and would then cross the river and connect to the south ward. one reason talks for this stopped were because the army corps of engineers said the bridge had to have a 40 ft clearance for traffic, which is way too nig for a small river and a small road.

what do you guys think of the high school basketball scene in wilmington and elsewhere in the state? do you think we are establishing ourselves as a place that deserves some national recognition for the basketball talent in our state? is our top talent comparable to storied places for high school basketball, such as philly, new york city, or los angeles?

thought i would ask this because of the development of some regional and national talent we have. eric boateng from st. andrew's near middletown is our first mcdonald's all american, and is heading to duke. ursuline's team was ranked in the top 10 in the country by usa today at one point, and finished ranked 16th. they were lead by arguably the best high school freshman in the country for girls' basketball, ellene delledonne. i believe usa today said she was the best 8th grader in the country last year. and she can dunk too.

Has anyone heard any news about the cap they wanted to put over 95 through Wilmington that's similir to that of the penns landing idea? btw check out the pic if u've not seen this :-p
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/jayr05/vision.jpg

The main reason why this will never happen is Del-Dot

Heh you got that right Jason. I thought that was pretty off the wall.

lol del dot did such a good job at merging route 1 into 95 (not)...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/jayr05/christinatowers.jpg

The Residences at Christina Landing project represents the first sizable development on the south side of the Christina River and the first riverfront residential project modern-day Wilmington has ever seen.

A 23-story Apartment tower will complete in November. The first of 63 new town homes, built in the shadow of the towers, also finished up last month on the seven-acre site (FYI...all 63 town homes were presold after just six weeks on the market). The development will soon be joined by phase two, a 23-story Condominium tower (The high demand for the residences led to plans to build the condominium tower. Scheduled to break ground in April, 60 percent of the units have already been presold) and seven-story parking garage breaking ground this spring with move-in scheduled for the third or fourth quarter of 2006.

The full article can be found here (http://midatlantic.construction.com/features/archive/0503_Feature4.asp)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/jayr05/christinatowers.jpg

The Residences at Christina Landing project represents the first sizable development on the south side of the Christina River and the first riverfront residential project modern-day Wilmington has ever seen.

A 23-story Apartment tower will complete in November. The first of 63 new town homes, built in the shadow of the towers, also finished up last month on the seven-acre site (FYI...all 63 town homes were presold after just six weeks on the market). The development will soon be joined by phase two, a 23-story Condominium tower (The high demand for the residences led to plans to build the condominium tower. Scheduled to break ground in April, 60 percent of the units have already been presold) and seven-story parking garage breaking ground this spring with move-in scheduled for the third or fourth quarter of 2006.

The full article can be found here (http://midatlantic.construction.com/features/archive/0503_Feature4.asp)


I wonder how much those condos and townhomes are going to cost..

Jayson, according to this News Journal article (http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2004/11/22insouthbridge,a.html) they're going to sell for up to $475,000 and the apartments rent starting at $2,500! OUCH!! :eek2:

Jayson, according to this News Journal article (http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2004/11/22insouthbridge,a.html) they're going to sell for up to $475,000 and the apartments rent starting at $2,500! OUCH!! :eek2:

Yikes!! For that price I might as well buy another McMansion somewhere in Hockessen :)

I wonder how well this will sell. I can see paying that much for a place in Philly or Bmore, but I'm not sure if there are enough real ammenities in the city to warrant such a high price.. just my humble opinion

All the townhouses are sold, Jason. All the Apartments are sold, and about 75% of the Condos are sold. I believe the Penthouses sold for 2M.

http://www.addresswilmington.com/04-09-05--13.JPG

I have insiders info this (since demolished) is the plot for the second community of townhouses/condo (?) They haven't made anything public.
http://www.addresswilmington.com/04-09-05--11.JPG

Only 7 more stories to go. The fake brick is coming along well. I can't wait for the blue glass part.
http://www.addresswilmington.com/04-09-05--05.JPG

The Condo has started. I believe we should see the first floor within the next month.

Visit www.addresswilmington.com for more updated pics.

The Juniper Bank Headquarters (200sf) should be starting soon. Some of the bricks have been moved to the site, and it is ready for the rise. (by AAA)

The Renaissance Centre has also just started. The Block of 4th between King and Market has been fenced off and is being demolished as I type. This will be a nice addition to the skyline.
http://www.ci.wilmington.de.us/mayorpress/images/040916_renaissancecentre.jpg

On 9th and Shipley, that block is also being taken apart. Commerce Bank will be saved. This should be something small, tho (8-12 stories). Nonetheless, better for the block.

Nice Joe, thanks for the updates..what's thr juniper hq look like and where is it going?

thanks for the updates. aaa's mid atlantic headquarters should be done in about a month, and aaa will be moved in in late may if everything stays on schedule.

alright, some clown is arguing with me on another board that wilmington is just "little craphole town in Delaware" and that "it's a wannabe little town in a little state. A place that wants to be a Philly suburb when things are good and a "we have nothing to do with them" place when they don't like it. The only good thing to ever come out of Delaware was Tom Capano - until the moron got caught." anyone have links or articles to help defeat this joker?

Well, Matt.
Wilmington - FIRST Delaware valley settlement. BEFORE PHILADELPHIA (swedish setts.)
William Penn stopped in N.C. before Philly.
Baltimore, Wilmington and Philadelphia Railroad - Can't get from a to c without B
We had our riots longer than any other city, Yet we have a stronger economy per capita than any other the size.
Most Financially Fit Metro area. Include the link.
DuPont - we won lots of wars and think: PLASTIC. GUNPOWDER.
First City with a totally camera-surveillanced downtown.
Credit-Card Capital.

It's true: We ARE a suburb when we want, and not a suburb when we don't want to. Our Northern Suburbs (Arden) are like what, 5 miles away from Philly's southern suburbs. Our Southern Suburbs (Middletown) are like what, 55 miles away from Philly's suburbs?

We're all one metro nowadays, but we developed separately. There's a lot of ambiguity there.

What the hell does he expect? New York?
Our metro is around 640,000 for 2005, we have an EXCELLENT business core, and OUR OWN SUBURBS RADIATING FROM OUR OWN CITY CORE. Follow all the roads to the city in the middle.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/wilmterra2.jpg
If we were so dependent on Philly (my second home) then how come we have a much higher concentration and greater amount of burbs on the SOUTH side, and not the NORTH? Really, if this wasn't a separate city they would lead to Philly or Baltimore. Nope. They Don't. Case closed.

It is a shitty little city, but the best shitty little city in the country. And he'd get his ass kicked in most of our neighborhoods. I'm just as defensive about Philly so I can't put Philly down in any way either. Try some of those tactics.

alright, some clown is arguing with me on another board that wilmington is just "little craphole town in Delaware" and that "it's a wannabe little town in a little state. A place that wants to be a Philly suburb when things are good and a "we have nothing to do with them" place when they don't like it. The only good thing to ever come out of Delaware was Tom Capano - until the moron got caught." anyone have links or articles to help defeat this joker?

I wouldn't even take him on.
Just remember:

http://img244.echo.cx/img244/6822/retarded1st.jpg

It is a shitty little city, but the best shitty little city in the country. And he'd get his ass kicked in most of our neighborhoods. I'm just as defensive about Philly so I can't put Philly down in any way either. Try some of those tactics.

i'm the same way. i can't bash philly because my teams are there. in fact, it was a fellow eagles fan that said all this about wilmington. but at the same time, i'm not going to let someone take cheap shots at the greatest mid-sized city in the country.

Jason that picture is just WRONG!! lol

Yeah somehow I feel If I laugh I'm a little closer to Hell.

"I'm gonna go to hell when I die" - Conan O'Brien

Hooray!!! ANOTHER 6 STORIES OF............................. inanimate objects.

Buildings giving way to new garage
10 demolitions on Shipley and Orange streets will clear space for 370-car parking structure

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/business/2005/04/images/151809.jpg
By MAUREEN MILFORD / The News Journal
04/19/2005

The entire Urban family of Wilmington went on high alert April 8, when demolition work began on a row of buildings on Shipley Street in downtown Wilmington.

Joseph W. and Diane L. Urban and their three children, Ryann, 14, Joseph II, 12, and Joshua, 9, didn't want to miss the day the excavator would chomp into their old building at 907 Shipley St. For nine years, the Urbans ran their Talkin' Turkey Cafe on the ground floor of the building, before they moved in September 2003 to their new location on the corner of Ninth and Shipley streets.

"Our kids had their birthday parties there. They would rollerblade down the hallway in the summer. We have a lot of good sentiments about the place," Diane Urban said.

"We put in 60 hours a week there for nine years," Joseph Urban added. "It was an extension of our home."

Now, the Urbans have two bricks from their old location - one is in the restaurant and one is at home.

The demolition of 10 vacant and deteriorating buildings in the city's central business district is the first step in a plan to create an approximately $9 million parking garage on the site. Montchanin Development Group Ltd. of Wilmington is tearing down five buildings on the west side of the 900 block of Shipley Street. It then will demolish five buildings on the east side of the 900 block of Orange Street.

The properties are owned by John Hynansky, chief executive of the 14-dealership Winner Automotive Group. Alan Perry, president of Montchanin Development, said the demolition work could take another two weeks. Construction on the six-story, 370-car garage is expected to begin in the fall, he said.

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/business/2005/04/images/151835.jpg
Besides the building formerly used by the Urbans, the building that housed the Shipley Grill has been torn down. Sean Reilly, who owned the Shipley Grill from 1989 to 2001, said he grabbed a section of brickwork, to which he attached the keys to his old restaurant. Over the past several months Reilly was permitted to go into the vacant restaurant and remove anything he wanted to save.

He rescued bar items, salt and pepper shakers and several tables, including the restaurant's only round table. Known as Table 37, it was the seat of the stars. Hollywood actors like Kathleen Turner, Hal Holbrook, Robin Williams and Mitzi Gaynor sat at Table 37 after performances at the DuPont Theatre and the Grand Opera House. Reilly also salvaged a vase that held flowers given to him by Gaynor.

For Reilly, the demolition of his old restaurant building was psychologically freeing.

"The building was so dilapidated, it was like reviewing the corpse over and over," he said.

Other structures headed for the brick pile include the Copper Kettle Restaurant, McNelis Hallmark shop and Mrs. Snyder's Chocolate Chippery on Orange Street.

The work has created a lot of sidewalk interest in a part of downtown that in recent years had become a depressing promenade on both Shipley and Orange streets.

"It's a shame to see old buildings go, but anything is better than what was there," said Paul Simonds, co-owner of Mutt's Hot Dogs, at 901 Orange St.

Eric L. McDaniels, chief executive of E.M. Enterprises and manager of the newly-renovated office tower at Ninth and Orange streets, said the demolition has created more interest in his building.

"It's creating a buzz in the neighborhood," McDaniels said. "It's definitely good to see some construction and investment in this part of town."

Contact Maureen Milford at 324-2881 or mmilford@delawareonline.com.

...Did we really need another one of these?
What's this, #4 this year alone?
http://www.ci.wilmington.de.us/mayorpress/images/shipstaverngarage.jpg

I think we do, the large public parking garage beside the county courthouse is always full! I was a little shocked. Plus it makes a good lookout point (lol) Lets all gather on the parking garage top deck. One thing I can say is this city actually has decent looking parking facilities, impressive even.

anyone have a map of the wilmington neighborhoods, or at least a list of them? i am confused as to where a couple of them are. in fact, i was unaware of a couple of them.

The new space will be a new six-story 280,000 square-foot office building and adjacent parking garage on West Street, directly across from Juniper's current headquarters along Wilmington's Christina Riverfront. It has been designed by Joseph Carbonell of Moeckel Carbonell and is expected to be ready late 2006. This will allow Juniper to consolidate its Delaware operations in order to service the company’s growing number of partners, such as AirTran Airways, Best Western, Caesars Entertainment, Frontier Airlines, Gulf Petroleum, Midwest Airlines and Sinclair Oil to name a few.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/jayr05/041026_juniper2.jpg

.....Our metro is around 640,000 for 2005......

LOL!!!!

..and thats all i have to say

This is a shame.. everything SBER has done in Baltimore is golden.. I think the city should have allowed him to build retail and offices. Now the city loses a big developer and gains a garage.. :-P

Ships Tavern developer drops out
City looks for replacements to help create atmosphere that draws an after-5 crowd
By MAUREEN MILFORD / The News Journal
04/24/2005

In a setback for Wilmington's Ships Tavern District, the Baltimore developer that pioneered the public-private effort to redevelop the lower end of North Market Street has decided against further development.

Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc., which spent $28 million to renovate 22 historic buildings on the west side of the 200 block of N. Market St. as apartments and shops, had planned to invest a total of $150 million in a variety of projects, including the redevelopment of buildings in the 100 and 300 blocks of N. Market St., said Bill Struever, president of Struever Bros.

A Philadelphia developer has picked up a portion of the project in the 300 block of N. Market St., but Wilmington Renaissance Corp. is again seeking developers for the rest of the area.

Richard V. Pryor, director of the city's Office of Economic Development and a director of Christina Gateway Corp., said that he was "very disappointed" that Struever Bros. pulled out, but that the city had to move on.

"We're past the setback. Now, other people are going to have to take smaller chunks," Pryor said.

Since the late 1990s, the city and Wilmington Renaissance, the nonprofit economic development group charged with redeveloping the Ships Tavern District, have been working to redevelop the area bounded by Martin Luther King Boulevard and Fourth Street, and Shipley and King streets as a mix of retail and residential space. The area is named for the historic Sign of the Ship Tavern, which was once in business at 230 N. Market St.

The goal has been to create an after-5 o'clock city. In recent years, there's been a movement to target shopkeepers, restaurants and apartment dwellers as the saviors for failed Main Streets. In late 1999, Wilmington Renaissance reached an informal agreement with Struever Bros. to redevelop a large portion of the Ships Tavern District on the model of Philadelphia's Manayunk neighborhood on the Schuylkill River. Manayunk is a true revival story that now attracts people from all over the country to its restaurants, clubs and shops.

Philadelphia developer Preservation Initiatives Inc. recently signed a contract with the city to pick up a portion of the redevelopment Struever abandoned. Preservation Initiatives plans to redevelop four historic buildings in the 300 block of N. Market St. and one building on Third Street. Settlement is scheduled for late May.

William C. Wyer, managing director of Wilmington Renaissance, said Preservation Initiatives is proposing to follow the original Manayunk model and develop retail on the ground floors and some office and apartments on the upper floors.

In the past year, Preservation Initiatives has bought several buildings in Wilmington, including a former law office at 716 Tatnall St. and a group of commercial buildings in the 300 block of W. Ninth St., according to Kevin C. McGonegal, vice president of Bellevue Realty Co., a commercial real estate firm in Wilmington.

Don Meginley, president of Preservation Initiatives, said his company converted a former six-story jewelry factory at 12th and Locust streets in Center City Philadelphia into condominiums with ground-floor retail.

"I don't know if Wilmington is ready for condominiums, but it's ready for the downtown to take off. Two years ago, I didn't think it was ready," Meginley said.

Pryor said the Preservation Initiatives deal hinges on financing and tax credit programs.

Once Struever Bros. said it was no longer interested, Wilmington Renaissance decided to look for other developers for the district, Wyer said. It has put nine properties in the district on the market in addition to what it is selling to Preservation Initiatives.

Properties for sale include commercial buildings at 314 and 316 N. Market St. and a lot at 4 E. Fourth St. A lot at 311 N. Market St. also is available. In addition, five parcels in the 100 block of N. Market St and the 100 block of N. Shipley St. are for sale.

"We think we've sparked enough initiatives, it's time to bring more developers in," Wyer said.

Struever said the decision to pull out was made after his company failed to win a bid to develop a 1.75-acre building site at the northeast corner of Second and King streets as offices, retail and apartment condominiums. The site is next to the Ships Tavern District in an area known as the Christina Gateway. The Gateway, targeted for redevelopment by the city and state in 1986, involved approximately 11 acres near the Amtrak station and the Christina River.

Struever said his company needed a large project to build the kind of critical mass that creates a neighborhood. The first phase that Struever Bros. developed in the 200 block of N. Market St. - called Ships Tavern Mews - was simply not big enough. Struever, as Market Street Mews LLC, bought the buildings assembled by Wilmington Renaissance in the 1990s. It will continue to own the Mews complex.

As part its plan for the Christina Gateway, Struever Bros. had said it would invest in a parking garage at Second and Market streets, something the district needs to be successful, he said. Wilmington Renaissance broke ground on the 455-car parking garage in 1999 but because of financing trouble the garage was never built, Pryor said.

Wilmington Renaissance now has a contract to sell the garage site to the Christina Gateway Corp., a city and state entity that was created to carry out the ambitious Gateway project. Plans are for Christiana Gateway to lease the site to a developer who will build a garage.

Struever was careful not to characterize his company's decision not to move forward in the Ships Tavern District as a case of sour grapes because it failed to land the Gateway site. He said he would be "glad to take another look" at Wilmington once the garage gets built.

The Gateway parcel was awarded to Brandywine Realty Trust of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., by the gateway corporation. Brandywine Realty, which bought the parcel for $5.1 million in February, plans to build a glass office tower. Gerard H. Sweeney, chief executive of Brandywine Realty, a real estate investment trust, said his company would like to break ground next year. It would like the building to be about 50 percent pre-leased, he said.

"My only comment is if five years from now it is still a surface parking lot that would be sad," Struever said. "It's too valuable a site, too important to the character and spirit of downtown," he said. "If we had gotten it we'd be under construction now."

Actually, Jason, they lost to the Cira Center lookalike.

LOL!!!!

..and thats all i have to say

Well, if somebody started YOUR city, and 3 years later settled PHILADELPHIA 25 MILES AWAY, yours wouldn't be that big either, now would it?

With all that population, what is over there, anyway?

Within 30 mins, you have the:
Harbor
Clubs
Horrible Traffic

Within 90 mins, you have:
White House
Pentagon
Clubs
History

Within 30 mins, I have:
Tranquility
900-foot skyscrapers
Clubs
Light Traffic
History
Live Downtown Nightlife

Within 90 mins, I have:
Beaches (ours)
Skiing
Megacity (NYC)
Clubs
Tranquility
History
Broadway
Like 8 more cities...including....
Everything you have.

I'm glad, Wilmington has a has enough time distinguishing itself as a city, a mere knockoff of the cira in philly would only set the city back that much further

Actually, Jason, they lost to the Cira Center lookalike.


What is the Cira Center lookalike? Do you think that is a good thing for the city or a bad thing?

hey Jayson, I was talking about the tower posted on page 1 of our thread http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/03/images/143313.jpg As I stated previously, I felt it was a bad idea after the cira in Philly got the okay first and is under construction...They just look too much alike

Joe84323, you've got to be kidding me. I lived in NJ until my teens. That's 40 minutes from everything you mention about Wilmington. I moved to Philly at 19 and it has no 900 foot towers. Just because you're close to everything doesn't make you a player. DC has no buildings over 200 feet and is much more of a boomtown than Philly and Wilmington combined. I love all the northeast cities, including Philly, DC, Baltimore, Boston and NY. Just don't try to lump Wilmington in there. When you do that, you sound like a Philly knockoff from Wilmington.

Joe84323, you've got to be kidding me. I lived in NJ until my teens. That's 40 minutes from everything you mention about Wilmington. I moved to Philly at 19 and it has no 900 foot towers. Just because you're close to everything doesn't make you a player. DC has no buildings over 200 feet and is much more of a boomtown than Philly and Wilmington combined. I love all the northeast cities, including Philly, DC, Baltimore, Boston and NY. Just don't try to lump Wilmington in there. When you do that, you sound like a Philly knockoff from Wilmington.

Molo ;)

That's nice you moved when you were 19, but I've been here my WHOLE life.

So you looked out the window on 495, huh.
Since you're such an authority on the situation, I'll brief you on a few things:

1. Philly does have a 900 foot tower.
2. D.C. has SEVERAL buildings over 200 feet.
3. Closeness/Proximity to amenities means EVERYTHING. Do YOU live in Wyoming? Why wouldn't you?
I hate to "lump" it in there, but it is. Lumped in between all of them. As much as you'd like to think the smaller cities don't exist, they do. This one is developing at a rapid pace, and the metro has a blazin economy, with a rising population. If you don't like that go post it outside this thread. I'll participate in your discussion.
4. "Player": me? the city? finance? womanizing? What are you talking about?

I lived in Philly for two periods throughout my life. I've lived in NYC for a period. Get your facts right, educate yourself a bit, and we'll have a legitimate discussion/argument. I KNOW what I talk about. Do you?

What is the Cira Center lookalike? Do you think that is a good thing for the city or a bad thing?

Good thing. Just as long as they revise the model, as some would say, we're knockoffs ;)

In all seriousness.. I loved it until Cira got built. I'm with Builder5000 on that one... We need something drastically different now.

Joe84323, you must be from Wilmington anytime you say Philly has little traffic. And you did tell Jayson that Philly has "900 foot skyscrapers" (plural.) And just so you know, by player, I meant the city on a national scale. And I don't know what middle school civics book you've bee reading from. DC has strict height limits as not to upstage The Cap. Look it up in a real book.

And you put so much importance on living close to everything. You have to know that unless you have everything, living close does you no good.

And so you know, I like Wilmington. I just don't like those who pretend they're from a large metro, while defending the smaller, real home from seemingly afar.

I know.

Molo, my friend.

95 through Philly is quite lite. I can't explain why, I just speak the truth. I can get there within 25 mins. I told you that Philly has 900 foot towers. I was looking toward the future. Within a year, it most certainly will. Are you trying to redeem yourself?

By living here, I have everything. You can live a half an hour to a great city, or spend 45 minutes commuting to a so-so one from the 'burbs. You surely jest.

I really wish you put that civics book away, because, despite what you may think, what I said was true: D.C. has several buildings over 200 feet.

Unless I'm from a larger metro (5,000,000+) which I am, you can't say anything. I can't change the fact Wilmington is intertwined with Philly. My city is mostly black. It has a horribly high crime rate. It has direct rail between here and Philly. We're not Alexandria. Come visit, you will see. Perhaps leave the downtown.

Even without Philly, Wilmington is rated the most "Financially-Fit Large Metro Area."

Please shut your mouth, or come visit. Wilmington is much more than the city you see from 495. You come into the Wilmington Development Forum and bash this city.
I don't see any Washington forum whatsoever, no matter skyscraper nor monument. Before you come back to further belittle this town, I recommend you attempt to start your OWN local thread ;) For such a "boomtown" I concur D.C. is, I don't see any representation to the fraction of which we give Wilmington.

There is unfortunately NO credibility to anything you say. I'm sorry.

Oh, and BTW: I'm protecting a small town from a far away Metro....

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?.......... Stop while you're ahead.

You must be the loneliest guy in Wilming...oh excuse me. I mean Phillymington.
You're not relevant! But I do like the skyline.

I wouldn't even take him on.
Just remember:

http://img244.echo.cx/img244/6822/retarded1st.jpg

I know I posted it a week ago.. but it still applies...
:-P
What is the point of coming on here looking for a fight? Its just stupid :tongue3:

Joe84232 you are stepping on thin ice with your comment buddy "Unless I'm from a larger metro (5,000,000+) which I am, you can't say anything. I can't change the fact Wilmington is intertwined with Philly. My city is mostly black. It has a horribly high crime rate. It has direct rail between here and Philly.....not cool at all

Also Joe84323, the height limit in DC is 160. The several buildings you refer to are the Cap, WashMon, and some Virginia or Maryland buildings.

Definitely not cool comments on the crime and peeps.

Unless you're from NY, no other city in the US has more than 4 mill. (not metro area either) And you're not.

You must be very old or very young. In any case, you talk from wishes and not fact. So I'll end this right here.

Joe84232 you are stepping on thin ice with your comment buddy "Unless I'm from a larger metro (5,000,000+) which I am, you can't say anything. I can't change the fact Wilmington is intertwined with Philly. My city is mostly black. It has a horribly high crime rate. It has direct rail between here and Philly.....not cool at all

Whoah Whoah Whoah Builder.

I'm the one who grew up in the ghetto neighborhoods which make up the majority of the city. The city's majority IS black, and we DO have a HORRIBLE crime rate. Despite this the city prospers.

Need I site statistics? Compare Crime Rates? This city faces the same stuff every other N.E. city faces. I strongly recommend you rescind your comment. It is proven that the higher minorities, the higher crime rate.

Where do you live, the suburbs? I grew up WITH minorities, ON 4th Street. You can't deny the LONG history of minorities, the riots which destroyed the city, our crime rate. What ails you to call me a Moron? Just because I say the word "Black" doesn't mean racism. You seemed to have taken that connotation your own self. Are you implying there's something WRONG with minorities?

Oh, and Molo: I've been coming in here lately just to prove YOU wrong about stuff YOU think YOU know.

Let's play a game: It's called PROVE MOLO WRONG.
We start with Molo's quotes, and show how ass-backwards they are

MOLO: "I moved to Philly and there are no 900-foot buildings"

One Liberty Place 945 ft

MOLO: "DC has no buildings over 200 feet"

Washington Monument
169 m 1884
02. Basilica of the Natio..
100 m 1959
03. Old Post Office Build..
96 m 1899
04. Washington National C..
92 m 1990
05. United States Capitol
88 m 1863
06. One Franklin Square
64 m 1989

MOLO: "living close does you no good"

This statement proves itself.

MOLO: "You must be the loneliest guy in Wilming..."

Yeah, that's why I came home from Latin Night at the Red Room to humiliate your ass. Do YOU have friends?

MOLO: "Definitely not cool comments on the crime and peeps."

Wilmington: Census.gov
White: 36%
African American: 56%
Asian: 1%
Other/Mixed: 7%

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/sperling1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/citynew.jpg

MOLO: "Unless you're from NY, no other city in the US has more than 4 mill. (not metro area either) And you're not."

RANK MSA 2004
1 New York-Newark-Edison, NY-NJ-PA 18,709,802
2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA 12,925,330
3 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI 9,391,515
4 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 5,800,614
5 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 5,700,256
6 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL 5,361,723
7 Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX 5,180,443
8 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 5,139,549

Do your homework, MOLO. I'm having too much fun contradicting you. It has to end.

BTW: send me $5... I'll send you a Wilmington Cheesesteak... ha ha ha

Joe my friend, lol twist it how you may, I call it the way it's seen. I don't need to grow up with monorities, I am one and the last time I checked calling someone a moron had no relation to a racist...If u didn't mean it to imply it's related to the minorities then simply say that and be done with it, but I'm sure you meant what u were implying. At anyrate I have much better things to do with my time than to argue with a computer bigot ;-) I will post news of buildings since that's what this site is really about and pay feuding remarks no mind. With that said, let the building discussions return

Anyone know about that DownState Rail project? Their website has been up for some time, but I can't find anything about it. They still haven't posted their Alternatives Analysis. It would be really nice, to have rail going to Dover, and then possibly the beach towns and Ocean City, MD (don't know about that, just throwing out ideas off the top of my head).

Anyone know about that DownState Rail project? Their website has been up for some time, but I can't find anything about it. They still haven't posted their Alternatives Analysis. It would be really nice, to have rail going to Dover, and then possibly the beach towns and Ocean City, MD (don't know about that, just throwing out ideas off the top of my head).

This is the first I've heard of it. My opinion as a former down-stater is that it is a bad idea. Everyone downstate drives everywhere. You also have no real central population. Say they put the rail station in Georgetown. If you live in Rehoboth, it takes you 30 minutes to drive to the rail station plus whatever wait time to board. It only takes an hour and 30 minutes to drive upstate so you proabably won't gain any real advantage. In my opinion, the general downstate populus will not hop on board this idea. However, that proabably won't stop it from being pushed on them. :-P

This is the first I've heard of it. My opinion as a former down-stater is that it is a bad idea. Everyone downstate drives everywhere. You also have no real central population. Say they put the rail station in Georgetown. If you live in Rehoboth, it takes you 30 minutes to drive to the rail station plus whatever wait time to board. It only takes an hour and 30 minutes to drive upstate so you proabably won't gain any real advantage. In my opinion, the general downstate populus will not hop on board this idea. However, that proabably won't stop it from being pushed on them. :-P

hmmm, well you're prolly right, I can't say much about southern Delaware, since I'm speaking from a Philly-centric perspective. :) Although I did visit the beaches in DE and MD many times and found them very pleasant. Also I'm a big booster for rail transit, but only if it's done in exactly the right places. BTW, the website is here: www.downstaterail.com

I used to live in Salisbury and definietly know the area...I think the lower DE area would benifit from mass bus service before any type of rail system should be considered. Lets get the busses rolling first then the rail in about ohhh, 50 years when it's really developed to that point :-p

a railroad that went from wilmington to dover with stops in smyrna, between odessa and middletown, red lion, bear, and maybe new castle, would probably work. as route 1 gets more congested from the population flowing this road, some people will be able to save time by taking a train. if they plan on doing this, they better build it soon, before it's too late, and traffic gets too congested and the good land gets used up.

I Don't see how I'm twisting everything with the stated facts, but screw it. I'm sorry I defended my point with valid and stated facts, Builder, it's easy to jump on somebody when they tell the truth and you don't like that truth. BTW I'm a minority you MORON.

Crime is clearly related to Minorities. I said it. That's my implication. Face the truth.

Have fun with the thread.

yeah yeah, I'd reply with a witty remark, but there's really no point in a discussion that' supposed to be about buildings...moving on..

an article in today's paper about a possible casino on the 7th street peninsula.



http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/03/images/146185.jpg

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/03/29developerspitch.html

I like Wilmington, since it's similar to Philadelphia like Providence to Boston, in that relationship, since DE and RI are both small states, the only difference seems to be that in Providence, there's always something going on, while in Wilmington, there's nothing going on. Hopefully that changes. As for the casino, it's butt-ugly, and I don't think it will make the city attractive. Wilmington, from a urbanist's view is beautiful because it reminds me of a mini-Phila, with the slight incline of the hills, and the parks, and not to mention the similar grid system, but what really needs to be there is a fourth city park. No condos, no casinos, no skyscrapers, no factories, nothing!!! Just a beautiful park, open land. Just next to Center City Wilmington. The park will be the crown jewel (called Christiana Park, in honor of the princess and the river next to it ) to the city's park system, as it will have it's own aquarium, a marina, and a historical museum dedicated to the Swedes similar to the one in FDR Park (I'll call it the Swedish Museum of Delaware). Speaking of Swedes, why isn't there any people of Swedish origin in Delaware. Yall should've had them, but I guess it has to do with the fact that Phila had it's head stuffed up it's ass while NYC and Boston became immigrant hubs while we don't do anything. If you look at Wilmington, and Phila as a whole, we're not really diverse in comparision because unlike NYC and Boston, we don't have enough West Indians (Jamaicans, Trinidadians, and Haitians), but just black people, not enough Dominicans, but Puerto Ricans, not enough Greeks, and not enough Swedes. It's really our own fault that we didn't embrace immigrant from all walks of like like NYC and Boston did (and continue to do). We still a pretty homogenous metro, with Irish, Italians, Germans, Polish, English, and black blood, and that's about it. Just my opinion.

P.S. The mini-Cira looks nice. And the Swedes, Finns, and even the Norwegians would've helped us with the shipbuilding and maritime business and helpe make Wilmington, and Philadelphia a great seaport. That's why I'm shocked that there isn't enough of them in the Delaware Valley, especially since the Swedes founded Wilmington and Philadelphia.

the reason that there aren't many swedes or scandanavians in our area is because the pioneer population died out and phased out. sweden gave up authority of the delaware valley to the dutch in the early 1700's i believe (can't remember the exact year), and at the time, new sweden only had a few real settlements: a fort near present day chester, pa; fort christina where wilmington stands; and a settlement near cape henlopen. it was pretty easy for the dutch to come in. all they did was build a fort at present day new castle, which gave them control of any movement from the ocen up to sweden's settlements. sweden verbally challenged this, but knew they couldn't do anything about it. when a new swedish governor slipped up and tried to take the fort by force, he had fallen into the dutch's trap. this provocation by the swedish governor gave the dutch full and fair reason to take over all of new sweden, which they did almost as easily as the english took over new amsterdam (new york city) later on. since the swedish settlements didn't amount to much both population-wise and territory-wise, the swedish population eventually married into english society, or died off. a hundred and more years later, when the first big immigration boom kicked in (1820's i think, and the immigrants were "chosen" nationalities: english, danish and other scandanavians, dutch, etc), the swedes and scandinavians settled in northern places, especially minnesota and to a lesser extent wisconsin. there was plenty of land out there, and the climate was pretty close to the climate they were accustomed to: pleasant summers and cold and dark winters. delaware was too warm for these type of people (they also said this when they first came here in the 1630's, but they stuck it out anyway back then), and they needed to be in a place where they would know how the weather works.

I can understand but according to euromaericans.net, in the NYC metropolitan area, the number of Swedes is 133,000, the number of Norwegians is 109,000, and the number of Finnish is 17,000. Add to the fact that the climate in NYC and Phila are exactly the same. In the Boston metro, where the climat is a little colder than the two, Swedes are 120,000, Norwegians are 35,774, and the Finnish are 27,000. In Phila, the number of Finnish are a small 4,000 in thi area, the Norwegians are 25,000, and the Swedes are a dissapointing 49,000. NYC was once owned by the Dutch, who oday make up 189,000 of the area, 1 out of 100, the English are still there in Boston, with 685,000, 1 out of 10, but the Swedes in the Phila- Wilmington-AC area aren't even representative of this area, as they make up way less than 1 percent. I understad what you said about the climate in Minnesota, but believe it or not, the climate over here is way colder than in MN because we're close to the ocean. I'm not trying to bust on Phila because I love this area, but the area's not even diverse than what we think it is. It's pretty homogenous with the Irish, the Italians, and the blacks, and that's all I really see. A steamship port in the 19th century would've helped us become a major immigration center, but we just put our hands in our pockets, hoping that somebody will come. It didn't work. NYC and Boston did just that and the two cities were successful. Even though we caught up, WWI basically stopped immigration and had we had that steamship port in Phila, Wilmington, Chester, Gloucester City, and Camden, this area would be just as diverse as NYC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the old swedish population died out and/or became part of the british population through marriage. and since delaware lost it's swedish identity when the dutch took over, there was nothing to make delaware special to swedes as opposed to other places. places like minnesota became better choices because of the climate. as for new york city, they have large populations of every ethnicity. plus, the city was the center of immigration, so it was an easy location to settle in, because the immigrants were already there when they got to the us.

from today's news journal:

Ships Tavern hinges on $3 million bailout
Mayor says nonprofit has learned 'hard, bitter lesson'
By MAUREEN MILFORD / The News Journal
05/15/2005The nonprofit company developing Wilmington's historic Ships Tavern District is struggling to avoid financial collapse, The News Journal has learned.

The Wilmington Renaissance Development Corp. -- formed to "lessen the burdens on government" by assisting Wilmington in redevelopment of the lower North Market Street area as trendy apartments and shops -- is being kept afloat by the promise of $3 million from Christina Gateway Corp.

The Gateway corporation, a city-state entity created in 1986 to redevelop another section of downtown called the Christina Gateway, is taking over the parking garage project, considered by many officials as the key to the area's redevelopment. The garage was started by Renaissance in 1999 but never got beyond a groundbreaking. Gateway has already advanced Renaissance $100,000 to help pay bills, officials said.

Mayor James M. Baker said of Renaissance, "It was a stack of cards that was just getting ready to fall. Anyone who thinks they're going to come in and do easy pickings in city revitalization learns a very hard, bitter lesson."

Baker said the state and city must step in because it would be "psychologically devastating" if the redevelopment project spearheaded by Renaissance, which is physically bounded by Martin Luther King Boulevard, Fourth, Shipley and King streets, were to fail.

"How long do you sit back and see if this private deal is going to work?" Baker said. "If we don't step in now, those poor people who made a commitment to move into the apartments and rented shops -- those people would have lost big time because they were sold a dream."

Since it was created six years ago, Renaissance has received 18 mortgage-free publicly owned properties earmarked for redevelopment. By the end of 2003, when its federal tax form was last filed, the organization had amassed $4.2 million in debt and experienced an annual deficit of $251,355, about equal to the annual compensation of the man who oversaw the operation, William C. Wyer.

Wyer, director of Renaissance since it was created, blamed the organization's fiscal crisis on construction delays, the high carrying costs in holding land and the inability to get financing for the construction of the much-needed parking garage.

"Time is the enemy in real estate development," Wyer said.

On Saturday night, Wyer received an award for Outstanding Achievement in Downtown Revitalization through the Arts at the 2005 Christi Arts Awards Ceremony at the Delaware Theatre Company on the Riverfront. In giving him the award, the Christina Cultural Arts Center noted, "The public arts initiatives under Mr. Wyer's leadership has attracted tens of thousands of visitors to the city of Wilmington."

Elizabeth Feasel, 80, of Bear, reluctantly sold three properties in the 100 block of N. Market St. and two properties in the 100 block of Shipley St. in 2000 to Renaissance. She had worked in her late husband's business, Jess Auto Supply Co., since 1943. She lived upstairs above the store from 1947 until she was "pushed out," she said.

"I go past there and cry," Feasel said. "It's discouraging because these past five years we still could have been there."

Although many affiliated with Renaissance were privately critical of the organization's performance, only Baker was openly critical for this article.

William S. Montgomery, chairman of Gateway, said he is confident that the deal for the parking garage will be completed within a few months and that Renaissance will get money to pay off some of its mortgage debt.

"But if the garage doesn't fly, we're back to more trouble," Montgomery said. "They need an infusion of money."

Intervention by the Gateway corporation is coming too late for Alyce E. Duffy. In December, Duffy opened Whiskazz and Pawzz, a specialty boutique for pet owners at 217 N. Market St.

Duffy plans to close her store at the end of this week because there is not enough business to sustain the shop.

"In retrospect, if I had known some of the underlying details, I would not have taken the risk," Duffy said. I really wanted this to work -- I believed in it. The bottom line is if you get into something too early you're on the 'bleeding edge,' " Duffy said.

The bailout

The Gateway corporation has agreed to provide $3 million in financial assistance to Renaissance. Part of that assistance involves the transfer of land at Second and North Market streets to the Gateway corporation as a site for the garage.

As part of the financial assistance provided by the Gateway corporation, Renaissance has agreed to dismantle its real estate business. It is now selling off all of the 12 properties it owns in the Ships Tavern District. Most of those properties were mortgaged by Renaissance.

"They need to sell off all that property to be made whole," Montgomery said.

Eighteen properties, including 11 parcels that are part of the garage lands, were given unencumbered to the development company by the city after Renaissance was formed in 1998. Renaissance officials said it can't give a market value for those properties at the time of the gift. They said they would not release the current value of the property for business reasons.

Wyer said when all the properties are sold and debt is satisfied, the proceeds will total less than $100,000. "We're not expecting any great windfall based on the most recent appraisals," Montgomery said.

Renaissance's financial squeeze came to a head in September, when the company was unable to get any more bank loans to make payments on its debts, Wyer said. There was talk by the lenders of foreclosure on properties, but ultimately the Renaissance reached a "standstill agreement" with lenders for three months, Wyer said.

"We had a liquidity problem every day," Wyer said. "Never start a development company without capital."

Negotiation with lenders and the promise of assistance from the Gateway corporation averted default. The corporate contributors were asked to pay their membership dues early, Wyer said.

Quentin Jackson, who became chairman of Renaissance's parent company in January, said the development company continues to have liabilities of about $4 million.

The Renaissance development company will be out of the property ownership business once the properties are sold and its future is unclear, officials said. The parent company, Wilmington Renaissance, will focus on promoting all of Wilmington through forums, a quarterly magazine and public events, officials said.

Joshua W. Martin III, the first chairman of Renaissance, blamed the development company's failure to get a parking garage built as the main culprit.

"The pace of development has not gone as fast and the company was caught with properties and having to service debt," he said.

Development delayed

Renaissance, formed by executives at several major corporations, was hailed as private sector contribution to redevelopment of the city.

Its parent company gets its operating money from annual corporate dues amounting to about $777,480 in 2003. From that, the organization paid salaries, travel and entertainment expenses, employee benefits, taxes and utilities on the company's office building for its five employees at 214 N. Market St. It also acquired mortgage debts through its development subsidiary.

Wyer was paid $232,270 plus $21,827 in deferred compensation in 2003. Renaissance officials would not reveal Wyer's current salary.

The original strategy called for Renaissance to acquire or control targeted properties in the Ships Tavern District. To that end, the city gave it publicly owned properties in the district. The initial phase of the revitalization was to redevelop the west side of the 200 block of N. Market St. as apartments and shops.

Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc., a Baltimore developer, was brought in to handle the first phase, which is now called Ships Tavern Mews. Struever Bros. also agreed informally to handle a total of $150 million in development in all parts of the Ships Tavern District, including projects in the 100 and 300 blocks of N. Market St.

But the first phase of apartments and shops proved to be challenging. Construction was delayed by two years because of a loss of financing.

Renaissance to date has overseen only completion of the initial phase. About 90 percent of the apartments in that block, called Ships Tavern Mews, have been leased and 50 percent of the shops, according to Katie Hearn, development director with Struever Bros.

When the Ships Tavern District was first unveiled in late 1998, plans called for it to take seven to 12 years to finish. By that measure, the project should be nearing completion or halfway done.

Besides the properties given by the city, Renaissance bought properties in the Ships Tavern District. Some were bought at request of Struever Bros., Wyer said. It stopped buying properties in late 2001, he said.

Some properties were bought by mortgaging other properties owned by Renaissance with the idea that Struever Bros. would eventually buy them and take them off the books, Wyer said.

The only income to the Renaissance development arm in 2003 was $11,710 from parking rentals. Insurance, maintenance costs, taxes and security all had to be paid by mortgaging unencumbered properties, Wyer said. Still, the planned sale to Struever Bros. was expected to help pay off the mounting debt.

But in September, Struever Bros. said it would not proceed with further development in Ships Tavern District, leaving Renaissance holding properties that the company had assumed Struever would buy.

With debt payments due, Renaissance tried to mortgage another of its properties. But in October, the banks refused to lend any more money.

Eventually, the company reached standstill agreements with Wilmington Savings Fund Society, First Bank of Delaware, Delaware National Bank and PNC Bank, Wyer acknowledged.

Marvin Schoenhals, chief executive of WSFS Financial Corp. and a former board member on Renaissance, would not comment.

Doris Schnider, president of the Delaware Community Investment Corp., a bank consortium that provides financing for affordable housing and commercial development that benefits low-income people, said the consortium is owed $424,261 plus interest by Renaissance. That loan was to purchase a property in the Ships Tavern District, she said.

Renaissance had agreed to pay back the loan in 2001, but has gotten extensions from the investment corporation.

"The Delaware Community Investment Corp. is working with [Renaissance] until they can find the financial resources to pay us back," Schnider said.

According to the memorandum of understanding between the Renaissance development company and the Gateway Corp., the development company has an unspecified amount of unsecured debt with Wilmington Trust Co. Ted T. Cecala, chairman of Wilmington Trust Co., who was one of the original board members on Renaissance, would not comment.

Renaissance caught up with debt payments by the end of December by asking its corporate members to pay their dues early. But the organization needs more money soon to survive.

Gateway corporation's agreement to take over the parking garage project included a list of demands to get Renaissance out of debt.

In the memorandum of understanding struck between the Gateway corporation and the development company in March, Renaissance would sell all of its properties and split the proceeds with the Gateway corporation.

The agreement also required Renaissance to hire a financial consultant to manage the development company's creditors and ensure that the debt is paid on time. Jackson, Renaissance's chairman, said he had already made the decision to hire a financial officer.

Focus on garage

Several former and current board members said Renaissance has been a success because it appears that the parking garage finally will be built. They say the garage is the linchpin to revival of the area.

A garage is crucial because apartment dwellers and consumers who want to shop at the stores need a convenient place to park, Baker said.

Montgomery also said Renaissance kept properties in the Ships Tavern District out of the hands of speculators.

Board members who were contacted skirted the fact that public money is being used to purchase the parking-lot land that taxpayers owned five years ago.

Asked about the financial problems at Renaissance, state economic development director Judy McKinney-Cherry, who is on the board of both Renaissance companies, said in a statement: "The garage project is one more step in the overall plan to continue the economic revitalization of Wilmington." She would not comment further.

But store owner Duffy and some apartment dwellers said they don't see parking as the linchpin in the redevelopment of the area. More important is getting a critical mass of people and shops to the area, they said.

Marcie Galieti, 38, has lived in the Ships Tavern District for two years and only occasionally has problems finding a parking space. She can tick off every parking lot in the area, as well as what's under construction.

"Parking has not been the most pressing thing in my life. If they think that's what's going to make or break Ships Tavern, well, no. What's going to make it more appealing is a supermarket," Galieti said.


http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050515/NEWS01/505150325/1006

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050515&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=505150325&Ref=H3&Profile=1006&MaxW=550&MaxH=400&title=1

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050515&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=505150325&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&MaxW=243
(just a side note, i worked with adam vassar, the guy pictured here, in one of my marketing classes at ud.)

moves to philly :-p

an article on the new eastlake neighborhood in north wilmington.

Owners give fresh start to neighborhood

WILMINGTON -- Cotanya Gardner once lived in an apartment so old and rickety that her living room curtains flew into the air when wind gusts blew through her closed windows.

This month, the 33-year-old single mother of two bought her first home. And Gardner won't have to turn on her kitchen oven to help heat this one.

The 1,500-square-foot row house at 24th and Thatcher streets, one of the first for-sale units at the Village of Eastlake in northeast Wilmington, is new -- and loaded. It's got central heating and air conditioning, a detached garage, a storage shed, a front porch and a walk-in closet almost as big as her office at the Henrietta Johnson Medical Center in Southbridge, where she is a financial counselor.

Gardner got the three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home for $92,000.

She said the home and its $600-a-month mortgage is a dream come true.

"I've got cabinet space for days," Gardner said. "I love it. I don't think I'm ever moving."

Gardner is the poster child of sorts for the Village of Eastlake, a $29 million social experiment by the federal government that puts people of different incomes, some first-time homeowners and some renters, side by side in identical housing units. The theory goes that the homeowners will take care of their houses, which will pressure the public housing tenants living next to them to do the same.

If the concept works, it will prevent the development from falling into disrepair and becoming another Eastlake project, a barracks-style brick complex of 197 buildings that was torn down four years ago to make way for the Village of Eastlake. The Eastlake project had been notorious for violent crime and drug sales.

Big changes

The old Eastlake was a haven during the 1980s and '90s for thieves, dealers, prostitutes, truants and vandals.

Dark and desolate, it was an open-air drug market. It was a dangerous place to try to raise a family and live in peace.

Former city Housing Director Jane Vincent said the physical layout of the place made the social problems worse.

"There were no individual front or back yards, and the traffic patterns were bad," she said. "It created this massive public space that attracted a lot of in-and-out behavior from people who didn't live there."

Vincent, now a consultant for Real Estate Strategies, an affordable housing group that does work in Delaware and Pennsylvania, said the new development was designed to make it easier for residents to control what happens on their properties.

Frederick S. Purnell Sr., executive director of the Wilmington Housing Authority, co-developer of the project, has his fingers crossed that the new 12-acre neighborhood will succeed.

The Wilmington Housing Authority, a federally funded agency that provides subsidized public housing for about 3,500 low-income people in 2,000 units across the city, continues to own the rentals and provides tenants with rent subsidies.

"The heavy lifting has all been done," Purnell said. "For these prices, these are the best houses people can get in this area, and I believe they will all get sold."

The houses will sell for $81,500 to $104,000, he said. Special financing is available for some low-income people.

The first homes were built with a $16.8 million HOPE VI grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and $12.2 from other federal and state sources. The HOPE VI program was created in 1993 and is aimed at improving the nation's most distressed public housing projects by creating mixed-income communities, promoting home ownership and helping tenants become self-sufficient.

All 70 of the rental units have been built and are occupied. The rentals are managed by Leon N. Weiner & Associates, the project's co-developer.

Ninety for-sale units are planned. More than 30 of them are being built or have been completed. There is no timetable for completion of the rest of the for-sale homes. Federal grants paid for the construction of the first batch, but the sales of the homes will pay for construction of the rest.

Gardner, a former housing authority renter, and five other homeowners have moved in to the first batch. Sales agreements have been signed for more than half of the 30 already built or under construction.

"We've had everyone from an anesthesiologist to a paralegal to an accountant to a locomotive engineer buy a home so far," said Vincent White, the broker for Provest Realty in Newport, which is selling the homes. "Most of the people have been local, but the interest has been regional. People are looking for amenities that can be found in new suburban homes."

Proactive measures on table

But it will take more than suburban amenities and some paint brushes to keep crime from reclaiming its foothold.

In July, there was a home invasion in one of the rental units. Three men with handguns burst in to the second floor of a residence at 2:30 a.m. They accosted a 20-year-old woman and her two children, ages 3 and 4. One of the men put the barrel of a gun into the woman's mouth and demanded money.

Last month, 26-year-old Arthur L. Matthews was killed at the edge of Speakman Park, across the street from the new development.

Recently, some homeowners' move-in dates were delayed because appliances and cabinets were stolen from the units during burglaries, Purnell said.

Mayor James M. Baker said he does not think the incidents will cripple the effort taking place at the new development.

"You can't say there will be absolutely no crime there, but you can say that crime will be significantly lower than it was at the old Eastlake," he said. "As long as the community organizes and sets their own standards and looks out for each other, things will be OK. If everybody stays isolated, that's when neighborhoods have trouble."

Purnell has suggested that a renters association and a homeowners association be organized to help establish relationships and foster understanding among neighbors.

Gardner, for her part, isn't worried about crime. And she thinks the screening process for renters will keep the neighborhood tranquil, even though it is close to Northeast Boulevard and the Riverside project.

"I've lived in the city all my life, so, as a city person, I'm not scared," she said. "It's so peaceful here. It's not where you live, it's how you live."

Gardner is simply thrilled to be in her new home with all its amenities. Her bathroom is connected to her bedroom.

And her children like having their new bathroom.

"I don't go into their bathroom and they don't go into mine," she said. "The powder room is a free for all."



http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050520/NEWS01/505200313

there's a picture of eastlake's boundaries in the newspaper, but they didn't have it on the website.

my wilmington picture is the header image that you see up above. just to let you delawareans know.

my wilmington picture is the header image that you see up above. just to let you delawareans know.

Congratulations! :)

here's a picture to remember it.

http://img141.echo.cx/img141/9968/wilmingtonheader0gj.jpg



anyone going to any festivals coming up?

WSFS plans new headquarters

WSFS Bank will relocate its corporate headquarters from a historic building on North Market Street in downtown Wilmington to a new $90 million glass office tower at Delaware Avenue and Washington Street.

The 15-story WSFS Bank Center will be the first multitenant office tower in the Rodney Square area since the late 1980s, and promises to transform the gateway to the city from I-95. The announcement was made Thursday.

The bank will be a major tenant, as well as a minority owner, in the 350,000-square-foot building, which is being developed by Wilmington real estate developer Buccini/Pollin Group Inc. on land owned by the bank. Besides WSFS, the law firm of Morris, James, Hitchens & Williams has committed to space, and city officials say negotiations are under way with the U.S. Postal Service for a full-service post office.

As part of the deal with WSFS, Buccini/Pollin has agreed to buy the bank's existing five-story headquarters building on the corner of Ninth and North Market streets. The bank would not disclose the price. The developer plans to convert the 1920 neoclassical structure into retail and residential space once the new tower is completed and WSFS is relocated. Christopher F. Buccini, partner in Buccini/Pollin Group, said it's too early to put a value on the renovation project or provide other details.

"This is a very exciting and productive project covering multiple fronts that will benefit the city of Wilmington," Mayor James M. Baker said in a statement.

Downtown workers and shop owners also praised the project Thursday, saying it will help keep businesses and jobs in the central business district.

"It's great to see businesses staying downtown instead of flowing out or going down to the Riverfront," said Joseph W. Urban, owner of Talkin' Turkey Café at Ninth and Shipley streets.

For Michael Jolly, a carpenter from Wilmington, it means more work for the building trades.

"As long as you keep people working, it's good," Jolly said.

Buccini/Pollin has been one of the most active developers in New Castle County since it bought the Nemours and Brandywine buildings in downtown Wilmington from the DuPont Co. in 1999. The company renovated both buildings for offices, retail and some residential space. In 2002, Buccini/Pollin began converting the historic Delaware Trust Co. building on North Market Street into luxury apartments. That building, now called the Residences at Rodney Square, is next door to the existing WSFS headquarters

The developer is now building the $125 million Christina Landing residential project, which includes town houses and two residential towers, on the south side of the Christina River.

A growing company

Mark A. Turner, chief operating officer of WSFS Bank, said the bank's move is necessary because of its strong growth in recent years. Over the past three years, commercial loans have grown by 27 percent a year, and deposits rose by 22 percent from March 2004 to March 2005. What's more, the number of employees has grown by 15 percent in the past two years to 500 people. The bank, the principal subsidiary of WSFS Financial Corp., now has 24 branches.

"We plan to continue to grow, adding two to three branches a year for the foreseeable future," Turner said.

WSFS will move its executive offices, finance, marketing, audit, human resources, the bulk of its commercial lending team and some operations into 60,000 square feet in the new building.

Although MBNA Corp. constructed a complex of buildings on Rodney Square in the 1990s and AAA Mid-Atlantic recently built a new headquarters on the Christina River waterfront, the WSFS Bank Center will be the first office tower in the heart of the downtown business district in more than a decade.

The time is right for a new building, Buccini said. Wilmington's office market has been on fire, with downtown leasing activity at a 20-year high in 2004. Activity was 69 percent higher last year than the 20-year average, according to Jackson Cross Partners, a corporate real estate services firm in Wilmington.

The vacancy rate for top-of-the-line office space in the city dropped to about 9.2 percent at the beginning of the year. Anything less than 10 percent is approaching a tight market.

Although WSFS plans to sell its longtime headquarters, it will keep a branch there. It will also have a branch in the new tower.

The lobby of the existing WSFS building is noted for its large wall mural, called the "Apotheosis of the Family," which was painted in 1932 by Brandywine Valley artist N.C. Wyeth for the bank's 100th anniversary. The mural, valued in the millions, will stay in the building, Turner said. Buccini/Pollin plans to keep and preserve the piece.

A slender glass tower

Construction on the new tower is expected to begin July 1 and be completed by November 2006, Buccini said. The architect is Gensler of San Francisco, which also designed ING Direct's Internet cafes in New York City and Los Angeles. Buccini said the contemporary design calls for the building to have a 230-foot glass front facing Delaware Avenue. There also will be a public plaza in front of the building. To the rear of the building a 550-space parking garage is planned.

"It's a slender glass tower with an elegant profile," said Peter Stubb, the Gensler architect in Baltimore who designed the building. "It's got a gently curved facade facing Delaware Avenue that kind of brings people into the city, directs them downtown."

Calvert A. Morgan Jr., a WSFS director and special adviser to the bank, said the Delaware Avenue office tower has been in the works for nearly a year. Buccini said the building is close to 40 percent preleased.

Earlier this year, Morris, James, Hitchens & Williams agreed to take between 40,000 and 60,000 square feet in the tower. The law firm's lease in its current location in the PNC Bank Center at 222 Delaware Ave. does not expire until October 2006.

The Postal Service, which is negotiating to take space in the building, is now in the Wilmington Trust Center on Rodney Square. Wilmington Trust has said it will not renew its lease with the post office. Sen. Tom Carper's office said Thursday a deal has been negotiated that will allow the post office to remain in the Rodney Square location until November 2006.

Wilmington Trust spokes- man Bill Benintende confirmed the lease extension, and said it is based on the provision that the post office signs a lease for a new location.


http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050610/NEWS01/506100315/1006

Any renderings to go with these projects?

huge news for the wilmington area:

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050630/NEWS01/50630003

MNBA, Delaware's largest private employer, has been sold to Bank of America Corp. for $35 billion in cash and stock, a deal that will result in 6,000 job cuts.

The job cuts will come from both companies, but details have not been released.

MBNA President and CEO Bruce L. Hammonds, 57, will become CEO and president of Bank of America Card Services and report to Liam E. McGee, 50, president of Bank of America global consumer and small business banking. Hammonds will remain in Wilmington and be part of Bank of America’s risk and capital committee.

Frank P. Bramble, Sr., a vice chairman of MBNA, will be appointed to the Bank of America’s board of directors.

Bank of America said the acquisition, which was announced in New York this morning, is an opportunity to grow a business that has proven to be one of its fastest growing segments.

“For years, I have been impressed with the sales capabilities of MBNA,” Ken Lewis, Bank of America’s chairman and chief executive, told a group of industry analysts after the deal was announced. “I see them as a selling machine.

“We think the strategies complement each other. We have the franchises and they have marketing savvy.”

After the deal is completed, Bank of America will have 40 million active credit card accounts, making it one of the leading worldwide payments-services companies and issuers of credit, debit and prepaid cards based on total purchase volume, Lewis said.

The deal is a pricey one for Charlotte-based Bank of America, but “not a shocker,” said Andrew Collins, an analyst at Piper Jaffray in New York. Lewis has been talking about buying a company offering credit cards based on the prime rate for a while, Collins said, and “there’s only one of them left.”

“They are going to make this as seamless as possible for MBNA customers,” Collins said. “And they will get more banking services as this goes forward because Bank of America has more products.”

The merger also gives MBNA a more powerful distribution channel, Hammonds told analysts.

“We can solicit (nationally) through the mail, but we don’t have personal contact with potential customers,” he said. “Bank of America has that contact.”

Collins said he liked the price, even though he called it a little high.

“It’s not cheap, but the earnings prospects look pretty good,” he said. MBNA earned $2.7 billion on revenue of $12.3 billion in 2004.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005. Under terms of the agreement, MBNA shareholders will receive 0.5009 common shares of Bank of America plus $4.125 in cash for each of their shares. Based on Bank of America’s Wednesday closing stock price, the deal values MBNA at $27.50 per share, a 31 percent premium to their Wednesday closing price of $21.07.

After the announcement, NYSE-listed shares of MBNA surged $5.34, or 25 percent, to $26.41 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of Bank of America fell 83 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $46.08.

Bank of America expects the job cuts to help it achieve overall cost savings of $850 million, which would be fully realized in 2007, and anticipates a restructuring charge of $1.25 billion. Savings also will be achieved through the elimination of overlapping technology, vendor leverage and marketing expenses.

Bank of America said the agreement has been approved by both boards of directors and is subject to approval by regulators and MBNA shareholders.

The company said about 55 percent of the combined company’s earnings will come from global consumer and small business banking, 17 percent from global business and financial services, 11 percent from global capital markets and investment banking and 10 percent from global wealth and investment management.

“For our shareholders, the Bank of America and MBNA combination yields a diverse business mix less dependent on market-sensitive businesses,” said Lewis. “The financial strength and cash flow generation of the combined entity should provide significant resources to support future growth.”

The deal come two weeks after the Federal Reserve cleared the way for financial services powerhouse J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to combine with Chicago-based Bank One Corp., forming the nation’s second-largest bank with more than $1 trillion in assets.

Bank One, with branches in 13 Midwest and Southwest states and in Florida, has $320 billion in assets and over 51 million credit cards issued.


http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050630&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=50630003&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050630&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=50630003&Ref=V1&Profile=1006&title=1

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050630&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=50630003&Ref=V2&Profile=1006&title=1

more on the mbna sale:

NEW YORK -- MBNA Corp., which has reshaped Delaware's economy during the past two decades, will be taken over by Bank of America in a $35 billion buyout that will mean 6,000 job cuts after the companies are combined.

The credit card headquarters of the combined company will remain in Wilmington. But MBNA CEO Bruce L. Hammonds and Bank of America CEO Kenneth D. Lewis offered no promises that Delaware would not be hit hard by layoffs.

Hammonds, who will head the Delaware operation, said that, had MBNA remained independent, it would have faced layoffs and $1 billion in cost-cutting.

The buyout will have a major impact on Delaware's economy and its charitable agencies. Wilmington-based MBNA is the state's largest private employer, with 10,500 Delaware workers, and the credit card company has long been one of the leading donors in the state.

After its $48 billion acquisition of FleetBoston Financial in 2004, Bank of America made pledges to maintain jobs there. But Bank of America later faced harsh criticism from Massachusetts' elected officials for not living up to those pledges. The company made no pledges to Delaware on Thursday.

"This deal was done with no guarantees of any sort," Lewis said.

Hammonds and Lewis said Thursday they don't know yet how jobs in Delaware will be affected. Bank of America employs about 1,300 at two credit card call centers in Dover and near Christiana.

Lewis said the 6,000 job cuts will be divided between both companies, although he didn't give a breakdown. The Bank of America chief executive said he expected corporate headquarters functions, such as the personnel, legal and finance departments to be among the hardest hit by the downsizing. Lewis said the job reductions would be achieved through a combination of layoffs and attrition.

More than two dozen MBNA employees declined to comment about the impending sale, explaining that they did not want to comment or were not allowed to talk to the media.

Hammonds, who was part of the team that started MBNA in 1982 in Ogletown, said he regretted the pending job cuts, but he said selling to Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America was the best option for MBNA. For more than a year, MBNA has been suffering a sharp slowdown in its credit card business caused by fierce competition and near saturation in the U.S. credit card market.

"We feel for anybody who loses their job in a reorganization like this, but I think that, for the vast majority of people at MBNA, this is going to be a better opportunity," Hammonds said in an interview at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, where the deal was announced. "And it's going to mean better opportunities than we could have provided on our own, and that certainly was a big part of our consideration in doing what we did here."

Had it remained independent, MBNA would have had to commit to deep cost-cutting to cope with the slowdown in its credit card business, Hammonds said. He estimated MBNA would have had to cut costs by $1 billion. He didn't say how many job cuts that would have been, but said it would have been "significant."

MBNA employs about 26,000 people, while Bank of America, the nation's No. 2 bank, employs about 177,000.

The cuts will be spread over the two companies, and MBNA workers who lose their jobs can seek jobs elsewhere within Bank of America, Hammonds said.

Lewis said MBNA workers would be treated as internal candidates and given preference in filling openings. He said after the buyout is complete, the credit card headquarters will be in Wilmington which would mean "significant operations" would remain in Delaware, he said.

Another source of concern for Delaware is whether Bank of America will fill the huge gap in charitable giving that the disappearance of MBNA will create.

MBNA has long been one of the top charitable donors in the state, with the University of Delaware and Delaware State University among the beneficiaries. Lewis said Bank of America would be a significant giver in Delaware as well, although he didn't specify a figure. Lewis said any charitable pledge made by MBNA already would be honored by Bank of America. Nationally, Bank of America said it would add MBNA's annual $60 million in charitable giving to its own donations, for an annual total of more than $200 million.

'MBNA' to disappear

MBNA's Hammonds will become the president of Bank of America's credit card business when the deal closes late this year. The MBNA name, a legacy of the credit card company's former parent company, Maryland National Bank, will disappear. The credit card issuer will be known as Bank of America Card Services.

The agreement has been approved by both boards of directors, but is subject to approval by regulators and MBNA shareholders.

Once it completes the MBNA buyout, Bank of America is expected to have the country's largest credit card portfolio with about $143 billion in outstanding loans and 40 million "active" accounts, customers who use their plastic regularly.

MBNA ranks as the No. 3 U.S. credit card issuer while Bank of America is No. 5, according to the Nilson Report a credit card industry newsletter.

Wall Street analysts have been saying for weeks that MBNA was a takeover candidate because it could no longer match the financial and marketing muscle of the giant banks, such as Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, that dominate the credit card industry now.

Speculation intensified after MBNA reported sharply lower first-quarter profit in April and warned it would fall short of an already reduced profit target for the year. That news sent MBNA's stock plunging to a two-year low, and prompted analysts to say the credit card company would be available to a buyer at a discount.

On Thursday, MBNA shares closed up $5.09, or 24 percent, to $26.16 on the New York Stock Exchange. Bank of America shares fell $1.30 to $45.61.

Takeover in the cards

"It's hard to be small in this business," said Lawrence A. Hamermesh, a professor of corporate law at Widener University School of Law. "What we're seeing with MBNA and Bank of America is part of a trend. To survive and be competitive, financial services companies are merging to increase their scale. These companies have to offer a full-range of services to their customers. MBNA must have been persuaded that its shareholders would be better off by being part of a larger institution."

Hammonds had in the past downplayed the effect of competition, saying the credit card industry is no more competitive than it had been earlier. And although he never ruled out an acquisition of MBNA, he minimized the likelihood of it happening, saying it was "hard to imagine" a combination that could deliver better financial results than MBNA could achieve on its own.

More recently, though, Hammonds had acknowledged that competition was taking a toll on MBNA. During the company's annual meeting, he told shareholders that profit growth was disappointing and that MBNA was feeling pressure from rivals.

Hammonds had been leading an effort to reduce MBNA's reliance on credit cards by expanding MBNA loans, such as home equities. He said Thursday he was optimistic about diversification, but that it would have taken three years before the full benefits would have been felt.

Hammonds also had been cutting costs at MBNA, long known for its free spending. Earlier this year, in its first cuts ever, MBNA eliminated 1,000 jobs, mostly in management, through voluntary early retirement and severance offers.

Being part of Bank of America gives MBNA a wider reach. Bank of America has 5,800 retail branches, where is promotes its credit cards, nationwide, though none are in Delaware.

"We don't currently have the direct contact with customers that Bank of America has," Hammonds said.

Lewis said MBNA was attractive as an acquisition target because of its giant credit card portfolio and its expertise in "affinity" marketing. From its start 23 years ago, MBNA has focused on offering credit cards carrying the logo of a university, sports team or professional association. It has more than 5,000 affinity partners.

"The [buyout] announcement is not only about the creation of one of the world's largest card providers -- that is compelling in and of itself -- but it's really a much larger story about two companies with complementary strengths," Lewis said. "The result will be the country's top retailer of financial services."

Copter crashed after meeting

This is the second time in as many weeks that MBNA has made national headlines. The credit card company was in the spotlight after one of its helicopters, carrying Hammonds and five other MBNA executives, crashed June 17 into New York's East River. The two pilots and executives were rescued by police, firefighters and passers-by. Hammonds said Thursday he felt fine and escaped without serious injury.

Hammonds acknowledged that the MBNA executives had come to New York to meet with investment advisers about a potential acquisition. One of the other executives aboard the helicopter, Frank P. Bramble, will join the Bank of America board. Lewis said he hoped other MBNA executives would stay on as well.

Hammonds wouldn't say whether MBNA had received competing bids from other banks, but he said the credit card company considered Bank of America to be "head and shoulders above" any other potential merger partner. Analysts had speculated that Wachovia Bank, also based in Charlotte and the No. 3 retail bank in Delaware, was also interested in a buyout.

Through a 5-year-old agreement, MBNA issues credit cards to Wachovia customers. MBNA owns the loans and services the accounts under the Wachovia brand. MBNA also owns the credit card portfolios of other banks, including Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank, the No. 2 retail bank in Delaware. Lewis didn't comment on any of the specific relationships, but he acknowledged that some of MBNA's bank business could be lost because rivals wouldn't want to see their credit cards go to Bank of America. But Lewis said the effect of lost revenue would be modest.

Lewis said the decision to buy MBNA unfolded quickly, with Bank of America starting negotiations last week when he and Hammonds met. He said Bank of America was familiar with MBNA's record of success and didn't need a lot of time to decide.

"We liked this more and more as we got into the deal," Lewis said.


and some pictures, with the captions that went along with them:

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050701&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=507010326&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1
After MBNA moved its headquarters to Wilmington in the early 1990s, it had a major impact on downtown, adding six buildings and revitalizing Rodney Square. After news of its buyout Thursday, MBNA shares closed up $5.09, or 24 percent, to $26.16 on the New York Stock Exchange. Bank of America shares fell $1.30 to $45.61.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050701&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=507010326&Ref=V2&Profile=1006&title=1
Outside MBNA headquarters in downtown Wilmington on Thursday, no employees would discuss the acquisition.

Bank's impact went beyond economy


It wasn't really Camelot. But for one brief shining moment it sure felt like it, Delawareans said Thursday.

Through the 1990s and into the early part of this decade, the state rode the coattails of an underdog credit card bank that seemingly overnight grew into a financial powerhouse. MBNA Corp.'s impact on the community can't be overstated, experts said.

The bank's influence was felt in every corner of the state. From local arts organizations to schools to the neighborhood shops. From the housing market to advocacy groups for the people with disabilities to downtown redevelopment.

"There was this feeling of optimism -- that Delaware was the right place to be at the right time," said Carolyn S. Burger, former chief executive of Bell Atlantic-Delaware, recalling the go-go years of the bank.

That's why, for many, the takeover by Bank of America, of Charlotte, N.C., marks the end of an era in Delaware.

James A. Wolfe, president of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and former manager of DaimlerChrysler assembly plant in Newark, said many in the community were initially "aghast" at the news Thursday. Wolfe said he heard people saying things like, "My goodness, they're being swallowed up."

"The era of the green awning has ceased," said Gerret van S. Copeland, a du Pont family member. "I hate to see it go, but I think this is going to make a real change ... because Bank of America ain't in Delaware."

Yet another frequently heard comment Thursday was that the exciting and open-handed culture that became synonymous with the bank already had ended in 2003 with the departure of bank co-founder Charles M. Cawley.

"The excitement of being at MBNA were the Charlie Cawley years," said Michele M. Rollins, chairman of Rollins Jamaica and the widow of Wilmington entrepreneur John W. Rollins Sr.

"When Charlie was running MBNA, he had the beauty of being a co-founder. There wasn't bureaucracy. He could make things happen, and the growth was fast and huge. There was fun in seeing things accomplished."

Brother Ronald Giannone, executive director of Ministry of Caring, which was a big beneficiary of MBNA's generosity, put it another way: "He gave color."

Cawley, 64, did not respond to requests for interviews Thursday. But in 1995 he summed up his attitude to the industry, which might be applied to the Bank of America takeover.

"This is not a sissy business," he said.

Making its own rules

When MBNA got started in Delaware in March 1982 as Maryland Bank N.A., it seemed like a "fly speck" in the state's emerging credit card industry, Cawley said in 1995.

Previously known as Maryland Bank N.A., the subsidiary of Maryland National Corp. came to take advantage of the state's landmark Financial Center Development Act, which passed the General Assembly in 1981. Dozens of banks migrated to Delaware to take advantage of the new law that abolished usury ceilings on loans.

But while Chase Manhattan Bank USA, the first credit card bank to come to Delaware under the Financial Center Development Act, was building a brand new office tower on Delaware Avenue at I-95, MBNA had set up shop in a former A&P supermarket on Del. 273 in Ogletown. It leased the space on a month-to-month basis, according to early reports.

Job interviews were conducted at a motel. The initial foursome at the bank, Cawley, the late Kenneth R. Bowman (after whom the company's stock ticker, KRB, is named), John R. Cochran and Bruce L. Hammonds -- worked long hours and made up the rules as they went. Cawley called the workday the "daily dozen" -- or 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

In Ogletown, removed from the center of action in Wilmington, MBNA in 1983 pioneered the so-called affinity credit card, which is a card issued to members of organizations, professional groups, colleges, to name a few. Three years later, it changed its name to MBNA.

Within 10 years of its humble beginnings, MBNA had turned the tables on the competition. Not only was it poised to eclipse all of its early competitors in the state, it would eventually overtake the DuPont Co. as the state's largest private employer. The company assumed the MBNA name in 1986.

In 1990, parent Maryland National ran into problems. MBNA was spun off in 1991 to help save it. That catapulted MBNA into an independent public company headed by Cawley. Three years later, MBNA had expanded operations to the United Kingdom and later, it expanded into Canada and Spain.

The bank's growth came at the same time DuPont Co. began its historic downsizing. Without MBNA's strong presence, economists have said Delaware's economy would have taken a harder hit.

The bank's success has been attributed to a focus on quality, customer satisfaction and a unique corporate culture. Cawley said because the bank didn't have 50 years of history behind it, MBNA had to create itself. "We wanted the company to be something different," he said.

The bank was known for its slogans in the workplace, including signs urging employees to think of themselves as customers. Workers were instructed not to let the phone ring more than twice.

"We had a set of things we measured every day," said Brian Dalphon, senior executive vice president of MBNA. "Customer service results that were posted around the company every day, and they measured a lot of different processes, like how fast we answered the phone and how accurate we were in making adjustments in customers' accounts."

When standards were met, money was put into a pool that would be divided among the workers every quarter.

Wolfe said he was so impressed with MBNA's culture that he adopted some of it for use on the Chrysler assembly line.

But many in town said MBNA fostered more of a cult than a culture. Others countered that it was no different than the sense of pride people took in working for DuPont during its high growth years.

"I always heard when I came to Delaware that, if you said anything bad about DuPont, you got not one black eye but two," Brother Giannone said. "I heard people say MBNA was in a sense a cult, but MBNA gave [employees] a sense of pride. They felt a sense of belonging, a sense of achievement."

Like many in the community, Brother Giannone said Cawley's personal will and personal magnetism couldn't be ignored. "A ship is only as good as its captain, and Charlie Cawley was the captain of MBNA," he said.

Imprint on community

As it grew, MBNA began making its presence felt in the community. MBNA employees are expected to give time to the community because, as Cawley said in 1995, "it's just a nice way to live."

Micki Edelsohn, an advocate for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities, is an unabashed fan of the contributions of Cawley and MBNA.

"As the mother of a 33-year-old man with a cognitive disability, MBNA, through Charlie's leadership and vision, made such a major difference," Edelsohn said. "He was truly in the vanguard of hiring people with disabilities. No other corporation in the world has done more for people with cognitive disabilities -- and this is not exaggeration. Truly, is not."

Brother Giannone said MBNA "raised the bar of social giving" in the state. "MBNA's influence was powerful," he said.

When the bank made the decision in the early 1990s to move its headquarters to downtown Wilmington, it single-handedly changed the east side of Rodney Square. MBNA built six buildings in downtown Wilmington and acquired the former Daniel L. Herrmann Courthouse. MBNA executives were involved in the redevelopment of the Ships Tavern District in the area along lower North Market Street and in the renovation of the Grand Opera House.

In suburbia, employees bought homes in the maturing neighborhoods surrounding Wilmington and spent thousands to update them. Other workers moved into new communities.

Now, many say they are praying all that will not go away. Undoubtedly, though, things are going to change.

Brother Giannone called it a "real blow for the community."

"It's a sad day, a day of mourning," he said. "I know people are buzzing, and people are worried."

Rollins expects it to be more difficult now for social and cultural organizations to get things done. "It will be more bureaucratic," she said. "There will be a hierarchy in Delaware and a hierarchy in Charlotte."

As for the glory days of MBNA, Rollins summed up the mood Thursday: "It was a once in a lifetime."


http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050701&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=507010327&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1
Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis (left) and MBNA CEO Bruce L. Hammonds on Thursday.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050701&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=507010327&Ref=V2&Profile=1006&title=1
MBNA built six buildings like this one in downtown Wilmington and acquired the former Daniel L. Herrmann Courthouse. The company single-handedly changed the east side of Rodney Square.

Generosity felt across communities
Many wonder if MBNA's financial involvement in schools, arts, social services will continue after sale


MBNA built a reputation as a neighbor with deep pockets.

After Thursday's announcement of its acquisition by Bank of America, Delaware's nonprofit agencies are wondering what the future will hold.

"They've been like Santa Claus in January, June and December," said Brother Ronald Giannone, executive director of the Ministry of Caring's 18 ministries and $8 million outreach.

Bank of America CEO Kenneth D. Lewis said the company would honor MBNA's current charitable commitments. But he was vague about how the sale would affect future commitments.

Over the past two decades, MBNA has given out tens of millions of dollars to support schools, the arts and social service agencies. The 2003 tax return for The MBNA Foundation reported more than $40 million in grants, ranging from $6.4 million in scholarships to $5,000 for the Delaware Housing Coalition in Dover.

"My concern is that they are not a local company," said Cecilia M. Cardesa-Lusardi, executive director of Voices Without Borders, a faith-based group advocating for immigrant issues. "MBNA was in our back yard and had a back-yard commitment."

Cardesa-Lusardi planned to call Bank of America representatives today and welcome them to Delaware.

Bank of America employs more than 1,500 in Delaware. It has its own charitable commitments here, but Lewis wouldn't give exact figures.

Bank of America said Thursday it intends to build on a national plan to give $750 billion to community development over the next 10 years.The bank estimated that it would likely give more than $200 million annually in Delaware.

If that proves to be true, it will be good news to community volunteer Jan Dallepazze, 52, of Hockessin. She said MBNA impressed her with its level of giving and "opened a lot of doors for a lot of people."

MBNA was committed to education, said Susan Bunting, director of instruction at the Indian River School District. The company has supported everything from literacy to environmental efforts with grants to schools and individual teachers.

Janet Davis has seen that, too. The new education wing of the Delaware Art Museum would probably not have been built without a $1 million contribution from MBNA, said Davis, associate director of external affairs for the museum.

"We had a child in here the other day," said Davis, "and this mother said, 'Look at my child. He's autistic, and he never smiles.' And there he was, beaming with his clay artwork."

"They gave us the money," Davis said, "because we are both committed to developing comprehensive programming for disadvantaged children from the inner city. The programming -- scholarships, free admission on Sundays -- is what drove them."

Individual MBNA employees were also known for their generosity, said Davis. In a typical year, employees raised $3 million for the MBNA Education Foundation and many volunteered for their favorite charity. Davis hopes such giving continues.

"We've been pleased with the mergers that have happened in the past. Knowing the caring companies that MBNA and Bank of America are, we have a similar hope," Davis said.

An ethos of giving was established at MBNA under Chief Executive Charles M. Cawley, who retired in 2003. Cawley was known for spontaneously committing to a project.

Eight years ago at a dinner for the Ministry of Caring's Jackson Street child care center, Cawley committed the bank to a new center for the working poor. The next day architects called on Giannone to begin work on the Guardian Angel Childcare, now located at 1000 Wilson St.

"If Charlie's heart was moved and he saw that he could make a difference, he would act," Giannone said.

Since Cawley's retirement, the approval process that was once so individualistic has become more formal, and there have been cutbacks, said Giannone.

Still, he said, "I'm not worried," he said. "I hope Bank of America comes in and gives as generously as Charlie."


http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050701&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=507010318&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1
Participants of the 2003 MBNA Walk for Education lined up on King Street in Wilmington. The event spotlighted the bank's Education Foundation, which provides student scholarships and financial incentives for educators and schools.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050701&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=507010318&Ref=V2&Profile=1006&title=1
A Jamie Wyeth print was auctioned during MBNA's 2001 Holidazzle, a black-tie event benefitting the Delaware Foundation for Enriching the Lives of Persons with Mental Retardation.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050701&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=507010318&Ref=H3&Profile=1006&title=1
MBNA employees give generously of their time. John Reed volunteered at the Food Bank of Delaware in 2000.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050701&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=507010318&Ref=V4&Profile=1006&title=1
Richardson Park Elementary students participate in the school's chess program, which was funded by an MBNA grant in 1998.


MBNA GIVING

In 2003, The MBNA Foundation gave more than $40 million to a wide range of individuals and community groups in Delaware and beyond.


Here are some examples of grants from 2003:


$15,000 Delaware Financial Literacy Institute, Claymont


$20,000 Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County


$55,000 Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, Greenville


$200,000 Little Sisters of the Poor, Newark


$800,000 Ministry of Caring, Wilmington


Some notable MBNA contributions over the years:


1997: MBNA starts its Delaware Scholars Foundation, pledging $30 million for educational grants and scholarships.


1999: Wilmington's Grand Opera House begins a $12 million expansion with financial help from MBNA.


1999: MBNA creates a $5 million foundation for special education and other programs for Delawareans with developmental disabilities.


2000: MBNA donates $25 million to the University of Delaware's fund-raising campaign. "It's probably the single-largest gift that the university has ever gotten," UD President David P. Roselle said at the time.


2000: Delaware State University opens its School of Management headquarters, formally known as the MBNA America Building. MBNA chipped in $2.25 million toward construction costs, the largest private donation ever received by the school.


2001: Sacred Heart Village, a community for low-income elderly in Wilmington, opens its doors. MBNA provided $3.7 million in interest-free loans for construction.


2002: The University of Delaware's board of trustees accepts a $20 million gift from the MBNA Foundation to rename the College of Business and Economics in honor of Alfred Lerner, the company's late chairman and CEO.


2002: With the help of MBNA and other corporations, Christiana Care's Helen F. Graham Cancer Center opens. The center is named for the first director of an MBNA program that offers employment to people with developmental disabilities.


2005: Delaware Art Museum reopens after expansion, including a $1 million education wing funded by MBNA.

Hey I was in downtown Wilmington today and I saw that a huge site on King St. between 5th and 6th street has been torn down. What are the plans for that site?

I couldn't dare abandon this thread any longer. Sock it to me!

Ok, guys: Here is the rundown.

1. Christina Landing Apartments topped out.

img courtesy www.addresswilmington.com
http://www.addresswilmington.com/6-18-05-TowerEastElevation.JPG

www.ci.wilmington.de.us
‘Topping Out’ Celebration Held For New 23-Story Residences At Christina Landing, Wilmington’s Latest Residential Landmark

City, State, Buccini Pollin, and Gilbane Building Company Take Time to Thank Construction Trade Workers as They Mark Completion of Major Structural Work on the Building; New Aerial Views of the City Are Revealed

City and State officials joined representatives of the Buccini Pollin Group and Gilbane Building Company today for a ‘topping out’ celebration at the new 23-story residential apartment tower that is nearing completion at the Buccini Pollin Group’s Christina Landing project in South Wilmington.

img courtesy www.addresswilmington.com
http://www.addresswilmington.com/6-18-05-TowerSouthElevation.JPG

A ‘topping out’ event is normally staged by the various construction trade workers to celebrate the completion of a project to its highest point in terms of overall structure and to take note of the quality of the work achieved without major injury to those involved in the project. Today’s event also afforded those in attendance, including members of the news media, an opportunity to view never-before seen aerial views of Wilmington’s Riverfront and Downtown Districts and surrounding neighborhoods that will soon be available to those who live in the new residential tower.

2. The River Tower has been raised from the original 12 to 25 stories thus far.
Work has been underway on the banks of the Christina River since April of 2004 on the new Residences at Christina Landing, a 23-story, 173-unit apartment tower. The building, which is approximately 65% complete, is scheduled for occupancy by the end of this year and will offer one, two, and three bedroom designs.

view of the 23-story earlier version of the River Tower.
http://a.im.craigslist.org/7x/9P/JV8AQvS1ukNtXOURr16yWNoIvwEd.jpg

The entire nine-acre Christina Landing complex also includes 63 townhouses, a riverwalk and park area, and a soon-to-be-constructed 25-story condominium tower, entitled River Tower at Christina Landing, that will sit adjacent to the Residences at Christina Landing.

Among those who attended today’s ‘topping out’ ceremony were Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker, Wilmington Economic Development Director Richard V. Pryor, Delaware Lt. Governor John C. Carney, Delaware Transportation Secretary Nathan Hayward, 4th District City Council Member Hanifa Shabazz, Rob and Chris Buccini of the Buccini Pollin Group, and John Groth of Gilbane Building Company, Senior Project Manager for the Christina Landing Development.

3. Renaissance Centre, LLC has announced that Renaissance Centre, between 4th 5th, Market, and King Streets has been upped to 15 stories, somewhat redesigned.

This urban crapland
Img courtesy of www.addresswilmington.com
http://www.addresswilmington.com/05-21-RenSite.JPG

will give way to this:
Img courtesy www.addresswilmington.com
http://www.addresswilmington.com/05-21-RenAd.JPG

4. Ground has broken/will break in July for WSFS Headquarters.

http://www.addresswilmington.com/GatewayPlaza.jpg

5. Juniper Bank Headquarters has also started. Although the following rendering is shown, I have reason to say this has totally been redesigned, as the mockup is looking more 19th-century riverfront than the Jetsons.

This building will have 280,000sf of space. Just in an awkward dimension.
courtesy City of Wilmington
http://www.ci.wilmington.de.us/mayorpress/images/041026_juniper2.jpg

Down the Line...

Two Christina Centre (the Crystal-Cira tower) is being preleased. It's not gonna be this year we're gonna see it, but I am told by the developers that it is under redesign (b/c of Cira Centre?) and is undergoing preleasing, but yet will be a signature tower in the skyline. The property was sold in February, so it's pretty much a done deal. Hell, we'll have enough to entertain us for the meanwhile, right?

Little AAA Mid-Atlantic has become a welcome entity on the riverfront. It is undergoing it's interior, and done the exterior.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st084.jpg

The insignia of the building lights up at night, as do the luminescent large windows. Small, but definitely a nice filler for the skyline off 95.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/WilmingtonApril1st086.jpg

The Ships Tavern Garages are coming soon, to be 8 levels with retail below.

Another 10ish-story structure will be built on the Shipley Street hole starting in fall.

Developers plan another mid-highrise condo along Delaware Ave in front of Wilmington Hospital. Too early to speculate much here.

Summer is heating up !

i met a friend of one of my best friends who has an internship with an architecture firm. he is helping develop ideas for the structure for the children's museum on the riverfront, near frawley stadium. anyone have more information on this children's museum?

delaware will be getting a decent chunk of money. among those projects that are planned are 1. an interchange that directly links with the wilmington riverfront (part of the original proposal in 1994 for the riverfront), and 2. renovation of the wilmingotn train station.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050729/NEWS01/507290310


State to get millions for roads
Congress is set to increase Delaware's federal transit budget by more than 30%

WASHINGTON -- The cash-strapped Delaware Department of Transportation is about to receive a multimillion-dollar infusion of federal funds for long-delayed projects around the state.

Congress is set to sign off on a $286 billion transportation-spending bill that would increase Delaware's federal transit budget by more than 30 percent, to an expected $965 million through the end of the decade. On top of that, the bill comes stuffed with almost $70 million in special earmarks for local road, bridge, park and transit projects.

"The streets won't be paved with gold, but they will be paved. Bridges will be built and communities will be improved," said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who sat on the joint conference committee and worked to steer extra transit funds back to his home state.

Congress was expected to vote on the bill late Thursday or early today.

But Delaware Department of Transportation officials warn that still won't be enough to erase the department's $200-million-a-year budget shortfall.

DelDOT spokesman Darrel Cole said the only way to solve the department's budget woes is to find new sources of revenue within the state.

"Anything the federal government can give us will absolutely help," he said. "But really, it's not going to get to the bottom of our funding issues."

Among the projects expected to receive federal funds:

•$20 million to build a highway interchange to link the Wilmington Riverfront area to Interstate 95.

•$8.5 million to develop an alternative route for truck traffic in downtown Harrington in Kent County.

•$6.75 million for Streetscape improvements in Rehoboth Beach.

•$6.5 million for interior and exterior renovations at the Wilmington Train Station.

•$4.77 million to build a new pedestrian and bike trail in Newark.

Although transportation spending is one of the few issues that draws broad bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, the measure had been stalled by disagreement over how much to spend and how to distribute funds among the states. The last six-year program expired Oct. 1, 2003, and was extended 11 times, costing thousands of contracting jobs and causing some states to postpone buying transit cars or repaving interstates.

"It has taken us a long time to get here, but it's been well worth the wait," Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said in a statement.

The surface transportation bill is often derided by critics for its pork for members of Congress, but for that very reason the highway bill usually passes with overwhelming support.

"Bills like this are never perfect and I do have some concerns about some of the environmental aspects and egregious pork barrel spending," said Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del. "However, on balance, this legislation includes a number of significant, legitimate and needed projects for Delaware."

While DelDOT considers long-term solutions to its budget crisis, including toll increases, communities that have been hit hard by state-level cutbacks were celebrating Thursday.

In Rehoboth Beach, local officials praised Carper for securing the funding that will put the Streetscape project back on track. The $31 million project aims to refurbish the main street in the resort town.

"Streetscape is a very emotional issue in town," said state Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach. "This project is two-thirds done ... and everybody wants to see this thing completed."

Just last week, Newark officials learned there was no money left in the state budget for a bike and walking trail they planned to build along 1.8 miles of the old Pomeroy railroad tracks.

City manager Carl Luft was ecstatic when he heard that the federal bill included $4.7 million that would allow them to complete the project.

"I think it's wonderful news," he said. "We assumed ... we were receiving nothing except for some minor land money."

Heather Dunigan, principal planner for the Wilmington Area Planning Council, said she was pleasantly surprised by additional money to replace DART buses.

"It's not a glory project, but one that is desperately needed to keep our transportation system running smoothly," she said.

The $6.5 million slated for the Wilmington Train Station will be combined with state and private funding for roughly $13.5 million to renovate the turn-of-the-century building. The renovation should begin next year, Edwards said.


DELAWARE PROJECTS IN THE NEW BILL


New Castle County ($39.75 million)


$20 million to construct a new interchange from I-95 to the Wilmington Riverfront


$6.5 million for Wilmington Train Station restoration


$4.77 million to build a new pedestrian/bicycle trail in Newark


$1 million to improve pedestrian and bicycle access at the University of Delaware


$5.979 million for the University of Delaware's fuel-cell hybrid bus program


$1.5 million to replace railroad crossings in Wilmington and Marshallton


Kent County ($18 million)


$8.5 million to develop an alternative truck route in Harrington


$5 million to repair roads within Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge


$2 million for the Hydrogen Storage Research facility at Delaware State University in Dover


$1.5 million for the Wyoming Mill Road Realignment Project in Dover


$1 million for Dover's Transportation and Community and System Preservation Project


Sussex County ($11.85 million)

$6.75 million for improvements on Rehoboth Avenue


$1.6 million for replacement of the Lake Gerar Bridge in Rehoboth


$2.5 million for replacement of the Woodland Ferry on the Nanticoke River between Seaford and Laurel


$1 million to plan and build an Energy Exploration Center at Destination Station in Rehoboth Beach


and a picture:

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050729&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=507290310&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1
$20 million will be earmarked to build a highway interchange to link the Wilmington Riverfront area to I-95.

meh.. that wont stop them from increasing tolls

you guys have the nicest people in wilmington. u guys have cabdrivers that won't take your legs out beneath u when walking across the street....lol. nice city i must say. it's definitely a town on the rise. go wilmington!!!!

Ground has literally been "broken" for the WSFS HQ. The Footprint seems much bigger than the building does in the above picture.

Looks as if the piledriving for the 25 story river tower has finally commenced. I'm thinking we'll see the first foor by September.

Again, they're taking their sweet ass time on the Renaissance Centre.

I'm wondering though, with the possibility of much vacant space in the Wilmington office market due to the MBNA sell-out (bastards) if they will put 2 Christina Centre on hold, as that would be alot of office space to absorb let alone having to prelease a building on the ass-end of the CBD.

I wanna punch those MBNA execs in the face for selling out on their employees and their city. BofA is gonna screw us.

Again, they're taking their sweet ass time on the Renaissance Centre.


i think things were held up last month. the contractor who was tearing down the derelict buildings accidentally tore down part of a historic facade on one of the buildings. they were told to preserve a few facades, so i think they stopped for a while to figure out what was going on down at the site.

christina landing is coming along very nicely. it should be done in the next couple of months.

christina landing is coming along very nicely. it should be done in the next couple of months.

Not hardly, matt. Maybe you meant "The Residences at Christina Landing"

Phase one is almost done. Phase two (apartments) is progressing well, pending the construction of the parking lot.

Phase three, the 25-story River tower is just getting underway. They have been piledriving for what seems to be a long time. I'm really glad they changed the height of the building, however I wish the sequence of the buildings was opposite.

And don't forget about phase four, the extra townhouse community. I gotta admit, I forgot about the 5th residential complex/hotel slated at 100 million dollars. That is set to go off next year. And the Juniper building - massive.

Too many projects, I guess.

I'm thinking Renaissance Centre should be tall enough to block half of the ugly courthouse from the I-95 view.

Did you notice the green Citizens' Bank insignia put on the Mellon Bank center? I like,... I like.

yeah, i meant the first tower. the rest of the "complex" has a way to go. and if or when that interchange that will go to frawley stadium and then across the river is built, i think the south ward will see many more times the development. the original 1994 plans called for a "wilmington harbor" that might've blown baltimore's inner harbor out of it's shoes. maybe we'll see some of what was planned back then: convention center, hockey arena, outdoor concert hall, multiple museums, symphony hall, movie theaters, promenades, condos built along artificial coves and stores along the river which would make boating a principle method of travel, and several other things.

here's an article about the new houses along the riverfront. they're selling really well.


Ditching suburbia for an urban lifestyle
New residents like their Riverfront homes for the views and the sense of community


You can see the Christina River from every window in Tonjia and Greg Coverdale's town house.

A lot is happening out there, Tonjia says of the views from their new Christina Landing home on the river's south shore.

From those windows and during walks, the Coverdales have seen families of ducks, herons, fishermen, sculls from the Wilmington Rowing Club and dozens of boats, including the tall ship Kalmar Nyckel.

"It's like living in the city, but very quiet," Tonjia said.

Or mostly quiet. Construction is continuing on the Buccini/Pollin Group's Christina Landing apartment and town house development. During music festivals at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, dozens of boaters stop in the river to listen to the concerts. On July 4, the Coverdales could watch the fireworks from their home.

The Coverdales are one of 25 families -- including developer Chris Buccini -- who have moved into the town houses since March. The residents are a mix of young professionals who work downtown and older empty nesters who enjoy the river and its growing list of restaurants.

Eventually, the development will be home more than 700 people, according to Buccini/Pollin. The town houses sold for $300,000 to $500,000. Resale prices have already risen, residents said.

"Everybody said, 'You're on the wrong side of the river,' " said Chris Buccini, 33, the developer, who lives in one of the town houses with his wife and two young children. The views, the proximity to downtown, the train station and especially the river have drawn people, he said.

The river drew Lee and Cathie Lloyd. They were aboard the River Taxi in October 2003 when Capt. Lionel Hynson told them about plans to develop the south shore. Big fans of the water taxi and the Up the Creek bar and restaurant, where the taxi stops, the Lloyds decided to check out the development when its 63 town houses were up for sale.

A few months later, they walked into Christina Landing's sales office to look at artist's renderings of the town homes. They walked out with a three-bedroom unit with a view of the water from the kitchen.

The Lloyds were one of the first six families to move into the development.

"We're kind of the pioneers," said Lee Lloyd, 58, a self-employed software consultant who works from home. Cathie Field Lloyd is executive director of the non-profit Opportunity Center Inc., an employment and training service for Delawareans with disabilities.

Many town houses are not yet finished, and the 22-story apartment tower is under construction.

More condos being built

Tenants are expected to move into the tower in December, said John Sloniewski, a sales and marketing representative with Patterson-Schwartz & Associates, which is selling and renting the units for the Buccini/Pollin Group. Patterson-Schwartz's rental Web site advertises a condo for $1,600 a month.

The developers have begun a second tower with 180 condominiums. About 80 percent of the condos already have been sold. It is expected to be ready for residents in December 2006, Sloniewski said.

Phyllis Wellons bought a two-bedroom town house next to the Lloyds' unit.

Wellons, an MBNA vice president, prefers her 2,300-square-foot town house to the larger house where she lived in Bear. Her new home is a five-minute drive to work, closer to Philadelphia where she has family -- and she doesn't have as much to do around the house.

"I don't have to worry about lawn care and I don't have to worry about snow removal," Wellons said.

Wellons says her unit, which is decorated with contemporary furniture and African-American art, is perfect for entertaining. The upstairs living room is set up for conversation -- there's a 72-gallon aquarium where most people would put the television -- and the den below is where kids can play and watch television.

She'd like the neighborhood to add more live entertainment venues for single people, places like Zanzibar Blue, which closed downtown last summer.

Leaving the suburbs

In the meantime, the neighbors are getting to know each other. The developers have created a homeowners' association that will be turned over to the owners once more than half of the residents have moved in.

They will include Catherine L. and James F. Rossi, both 46, and children of the Wilmington suburbs who in middle age dis- covered they preferred an urban lifestyle.

Catherine Rossi, who is manager of public and government affairs at AAA Mid-Atlantic car club on the Christina River, was raised in one of the first suburban neighborhoods near Prices Corner. Her husband, a Delaware State Police trooper, lived nearby.

After living for 10 years in a typical suburban house in Pike Creek, the Rossis were smitten with the town houses in Christina Landing. But after the plans for the 25-story condominium tower became available, they sold the town house and snapped up a two-bedroom condo on the northwest corner of the building.

"The floor to ceiling glass windows will give 'room with a view' a whole new meaning," Rossi said.

The couple did spend one night in the town house just to say they did it.

"There's a sense of peacefulness being near the water. It's so picturesque," Rossi said.

Rossi said she's gotten more in touch with the city's rich industrial history.

"I'm getting into the spirit of the Riverfront both personally and professionally," she said.

She feels a sense of continuity because both sets of her Polish grandparents and great grandparents worked on the Christina River in the shipyard and leather industries when they immigrated to the city in 1919.

"They would not recognize it today," Rossi said.

'The rhythm of life'

While they wait for their condominium, the Rossis are living in another Buccini/Pollin apartment development, the Residences at Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington. Living in the converted bank building has confirmed for them that they made the right choice to leave suburbia.

The couple loves the sense of community that apartment living provides, she said.

"You feel more in the rhythm of life. I like being part of the vitality of the city," Rossi said.

The Coverdales also prefer urban living. They moved in June from Wilmington's Quaker Hill neighborhood to their $399,900 waterfront town house.

Greg, 28, a financial adviser with an investment bank, drives to work downtown. Tonjia, 27, a Delaware State professor commutes to the Dover campus. The neighborhood still doesn't have a supermarket, so they shop for groceries on Concord Pike in Brandywine Hundred.

Inside, they've used warm whites, pastels, stained wood and minimalist restraint in decorating their home in order to give it a light, airy feeling.

"We want to keep everything open," Tonjia said. "People come in the house and say, 'This looks like a happy home.' "


some pictures:

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050826&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=508260336&Ref=H1&Profile=1006&title=1
Greg and Tonjia Coverdale are among the first 25 families to move into Christina Landing's town houses. "People come in the house and say, 'This looks like a happy home,' " Tonjia said.


there was a great picture in the paper of the aerial view from the top of the christina tower, but i haven't found it online at all.

Developers changing face of the city
Buccini/Pollin a force in renaissance


The two young men were talking big in 2002 when they announced their ambitious real estate project while standing outside the burned-out Delaware Trust Co. building in downtown Wilmington.

The city was ready for urban living, said the hard-charging Robert Buccini and his younger brother, Christopher, who, for once, weren't dashing to a meeting or answering a cell phone. And as proof, they were going to spend $50 million to convert the gloomy bank tower into luxury apartments.

A few old-school developers, however, were laughing up their sleeves. Over the decades, the city had seen its share of residential developers blow onto the scene with much fanfare only to quietly disappear a few years later. "You know, this isn't going to work," one older developer said in an aside to Mayor James M. Baker about the Delaware Trust Building project.

"I wouldn't have had the guts," said Brock J. Vinton, who is chief executive of the Commonwealth Group Ltd. in Wilmington and a competitor to the Buccinis. "They did what some of the other developers, notably myself, wouldn't have done -- they had faith in residential."

To that Rob Buccini, 37, replies: "Ignorance is bliss."

Now that Buccini/Pollin Group Inc. has leased nearly all of the 280 apartments in the converted bank building, older developers are still shaking their heads in disbelief, Vinton said. In a little more than a decade, the company with offices in Wilmington, Manhattan and Washington has built a portfolio of $1.5 billion in real estate with properties from Massachusetts to Northern Virginia. It has become one of the biggest real estate acquisition, development and management firms in the mid-Atlantic region.

Still, the Buccinis, who seem more like Wall Street traders than private-school graduates from Chateau Country, said their passion is Wilmington. It's also the city where the company has made some of its biggest bets. Since 2000, the privately held real estate company has developed about $350 million in office and residential projects from Rodney Square to the Christina River waterfront. Many real estate experts credit Buccini/Pollin with the city's greatest transformation in recent history.

"What they've done -- and I don't how they did it -- is they proved Wilmington has a strong residential market," said James A. Tevebaugh, president of Tevebaugh Associates architectural firm in Wilmington.

Tevebaugh, who has been working to revitalize the Christina River waterfront since the early 1980s, said the most breathtaking evidence of Buccini/Pollin's success is the $130 million Christina Landing residential project on the south side of the river.

"They solidified the future of the Riverfront. Residential is absolutely essential to the Riverfront's long-term survival," said Jim Kelly, executive vice president of ING Direct, the nation's fourth largest savings bank, which has its headquarters on the Wilmington Riverfront.

Down by the river

Unlike almost any other single development in Wilmington's history, the Buccinis' Christina Landing project has transformed the south side of the river and the area sometimes called the Amtrak train station district.

The 63 new town houses invariably catch visitors' eyes when they leave the train station or dine on the Riverfront. Nearby, the first of two residential towers is already scraping the sky and should be open by late November.

To those who have followed the fits and starts of development on the river for the past 20 years, it seemed like the houses popped up overnight.

"It's like the fairies came in the night and planted them," Tevebaugh said.

But that's not all Buccini/Pollin is doing for the city's revival. The company plans to start work on a more than $100 million development on the north side of the river near Juniper Bank and the AAA Mid-Atlantic headquarters. The project calls for a hotel, residences, offices and shops on 10.9 acres on what is now public land off South Madison Street.

In another part of downtown that was beginning to feel a little tired, Buccini/Pollin has started work on a $90 million office tower on a long-vacant site at Delaware Avenue and Washington Street. The WSFS Bank Center project should help fill in the western gateway to the downtown area from I-95 and Greenville.

The Buccinis attribute the company's success to several things, including good timing, a unique business model and a regional perspective.

"We're not just throwing mud at the wall to see what sticks," Chris Buccini, 33, said.

The company has five partners, all with a previous work history in various aspects of real estate.

Besides Rob and Chris, the firms' partners are H. Wesley Schwandt, 37, a childhood friend of Rob's. Schwandt is based in Wilmington.

David B. Pollin, 37, and Greg Miller, 42, are located in the Washington office.

Schwandt said partners Pollin and Miller provide an "alternative benchmark" when considering projects.

"These are hometown guys who have been other places and can see what can happen," said Richard V. Pryor, the city's director of economic development. "They've got a much more can-do attitude than some of the other guys who have been around."

Getting a start

Buccini/Pollin's first Delaware appearance was in 1999, when it bought three buildings from the DuPont Co., including the Nemours and Brandywine buildings.

Before that, the firm had never had a project in the city, although it had been in business for five years.

Few people in the real estate community knew much about the company.

But the Buccinis and Schwandt knew the community. All three men grew up in well-to-do areas west of the city and had gone to private schools. The Buccinis lived in Centreville, Schwandt lived in Greenville.

The Buccini brothers also spent a lot of time in the Little Italy section of the city at their grandmother's house on Du Pont Street. The home of Felicia M. DeSeta served as the center of a large extended family involved in the construction industry and real estate development. Felicia DeSeta was one of the founders of Women in Construction in the 1960s.

Rob Buccini graduated from Wilmington Friends School in Alapocas and then went on to Cornell University, where he majored in government. In college, he became friends with Pollin while playing football.

Pollin's uncle, Abe Pollin, and his wife, Irene, are majority owners of the Washington Sports & Entertainment Limited Partnership, which oversees the National Basketball Association's Washington Wizards and the Women's National Basketball Association's Washington Mystics. Their company also oversees the Washington/Baltimore TicketMaster and the management of MCI Center in Washington and George Mason University Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. The Pollins are the longest-serving team owners in the NBA.

Schwandt said, initially, many people asked whether Abe Pollin was backing the firm.

"He has no involvement at all and didn't when we started the company," Schwandt said. "Rob and Dave cut their teeth by themselves."

Chris Buccini attended Wilmington Friends and graduated from St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H. He went on to Princeton, where he majored in political science.

Schwandt graduated from Tower Hill School and then went to Lehigh University, where he studied business. He and Rob Buccini became friends as children. Schwandt's father, Dr. Hugo B. Schwandt, was an eye surgeon in Wilmington who has since moved to Florida.

Schwandt describes his physician father as always a "closet builder" who built all the houses they lived in.

"When he's in town he says: Let's get in the truck and go see the projects," Schwandt said.

Working up a partnership

After college, all five partners became involved in some aspect of the real estate industry.

Rob Buccini went to work with Kenneth D. Laub & Co. in Manhattan as an analyst and broker. Later, he was assistant vice president for real estate development at the New York City Economic Development Corp. While there, he worked on the Times Square redevelopment project.

Before joining Buccini/Pollin, Chris Buccini worked at Barrow Street Capital LLC, a New York City-based real estate private equity fund.

Pollin worked at Laventhol & Horwath Management Advisory Services and spent seven years in hotel and restaurant operations for major hotel companies.

Schwandt spent eight years with Bancroft Construction Co. in Wilmington where, among other things, he was a senior estimator and project manager.

Miller, who has a degree from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, had extensive experience with major lodging companies and was on the management team at two five-star properties.

It was while he was working in New York City that Pollin kept pushing his college friend to do a real estate development.

In 1994, Rob Buccini relented.

"I still haven't forgiven him for it," Rob Buccini said.

He and Pollin developed a 40,000-square-foot building in Delaware County, Pa., which they still own. The next year, they built a hotel in Fairfax County, Va., which was followed by another in 1996 at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

Today, the company has 17 hotels in a group called PM Hospitality Strategies, which is headed by Miller.

Out-of-state activities

Despite the huge splash Buccini/Pollin has made in Wilmington, the company does most of its work outside Delaware.

Earlier this year, for example, the company bought one-third of the portfolio of Preferred Real Estate Investments Inc. in Conshohocken, Pa.

That added 22 buildings -- or nearly 3 million square feet of office space -- in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.

Not that the company hasn't had its bumps. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, it was severely tested when travel fell off and hotel revenues dropped, Rob Buccini said. He said the company relies on the income from the hotels to support new construction, which can take longer to see a positive return.

"It was an incredible test of the company," he said.

While some developers said they are concerned the purchase of MBNA Corp. by Bank of America could hurt the city's renaissance, Rob Buccini said MBNA employees haven't been that much of a factor in its success with residential projects.

The business model, instead, is based on "creating mass quickly," Rob Buccini said. In addition, the brothers try to have new projects lined up as other projects near completion.

Finally, the partners said, like so much in life, their success is due in large part to being in the right place at the right time.

"If we did what we've done in Wilmington seven years ago, we'd be bankrupt," Rob Buccini said.


http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050828&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=508280427&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1
Brothers Christopher (left) and Robert Buccini hang in a construction basket outside the 22-story apartment building the Buccini/Pollin Group is building on the Christina River in Wilmington.

I had dinner at Timothy's on the Waterfront tonite and I snapped a couple of good pictures of the downtown skyline. I think this might be one of the best views of the town.
enjoy!

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/1158/downtown1gg.jpg

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/61/downtown21de.jpg

Sweet pics, Jayson. Can't wait till the residential/hotel complex is built!

nice pictures. the christina landing tower blocks the view of the bank one building, but that's fine. walking north along the river would probably reveal the building, and make for a wider skyline picture.

i like your second picture. having the marshes in the front is a nice touch. it helps portray that the land below the city isn't a wasteland of junkyards, strip clubs, and warehouses.

i had jury duty today, and took this picture of the renaissance center site from the top of the ncco courthouse parking lot. i also took other pictures of downtown, which i will put up later.

http://img400.imageshack.us/img400/7382/dscf24887am.jpg

That's ILLEGAL, Matt. I'm calling the police right now!!

NO CAMERAS IN THE COURTHOUSE!!!

:D

anyone know if the residences at christina landing will be taller than the chase manhattan building? how tall will the condos be?

^Naah.. They're only like 250/275 feet high.

maybe it's the slenderness or the isolation from other tall buildings that makes it look so tall.

what's the latest on two christina center (or whatever they are going to call it)? when will they be starting on it? or is it not in the works anymore?

'Tis on hold for now. Still in the works for '07 from what I understand..

It'll be alright though.. we still got some entertainment until then.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/Homebuyingguide/P129581.asp

12 fast-growing cities that are still cheap
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Coeur d'Alene, ID
St. George, UT
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL
Tucson, AZ
Lakeland, FL
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
Jacksonville, FL
Eugene-Springfield, OR
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA
Charleston-North Charleston, SC
Wilmington, DE

very nice

sites in wilmington are some of the places considered in what would be delaware's first park in the national park system.


Carper to make pitch for national park in Del.
All counties included in coastal heritage plan


When you think about wide-open spaces, sweeping vistas and national parks, Delaware is about the last place that comes to mind.

But today, Sen. Tom Carper will make his pitch to the Senate's National Park Subcommittee to change that by creating a national park in Delaware, the only state that does not have one.

"Historically, people thought of a national park as something huge," Carper said. "Delaware is not huge. But there is a lot of amazing history that has been made in the state."

Carper's park proposal is far from typical.

He is not asking for money to purchase land that would become a massive federal holding. Instead, he wants a federal heritage area that would encompass city and state parks and land owned by private commissions and foundations in all three counties.

The properties would continue to be owned, maintained and operated by the current owners, but would be linked under a common theme: Delaware's coastal heritage.

"The Park Service doesn't come in and take over," said David Barna, a spokesman for the National Park Service. "It has all the wonderful benefits" of a national park "but it allows local control."

The federal parks agency manages 388 properties across the country. Some are national parks, some are national seashores and some are battlegrounds or forts.

Each year there are 10 to 15 requests for studies of potential new sites. About half the requests make it through the study stage, Barna said.

Request for study

Carper is asking the committee to endorse legislation asking for a parks service study of the Delaware plan.

Carper said the cost of the study is estimated at less than $200,000. The study would be the first major step in the process toward congressional approval of a heritage area in the state.

It is a proposal that Carper has been working on since 2003.

Carper said he and his family were planning a trip to a national park and when they went to the National Park Service Web site, they found nothing in Delaware. They ended up visiting Alaska and a national park that was bigger than the state of Delaware.

Carper is not the first person to think about a park for Delaware. More than a decade ago, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., suggested a national park be designated at the Great Cypress Swamp -- a 6,000-acre tract owned by the nonprofit Delaware Wild Lands.

That plan met with opposition from local lawmakers and others who said the wild and environmentally fragile nature of the area made it unsuitable for a national park.

The current proposal would not have that problem.

"Delaware has a rich historical, coastal heritage," Carper said. "Frankly, not too many people across the country know about it."

A unique concept

Carper established a National Parks Committee in the fall of 2003 with representatives from around the state.

James R. Soles, the retired professor of political science and international relations at the University of Delaware, chaired the committee.

"We looked for something that was important to our national history," Soles said.

At meetings and public workshops throughout the state, the same theme kept coming up, Soles said.

Delaware had a unique coastal heritage dating from prehistoric settlements of native peoples, through settlement by Europeans, colonization, slavery and abolition, war and modern times, Soles said.

The key, Soles said, was coming up with a common theme to showcase what is unique for Delaware and the nation.

In the end, the committee decided "Delaware reflected the nation's coastal heritage," he said.

The members also concluded that the park didn't have to be a contiguous piece of land, or cost hundred of millions of dollars to purchase, he said.

Jim Rockwell, director of operations for the Kalmar Nyckel, Delaware's replica of the ship that brought Swedish settlers to Wilmington, said his organization supports the proposal.

"Anything to help develop the peninsula as an historic site, we'd be in favor of," he said.

The Delaware concept fits between those of Mystic, Conn., which showcases northern coasts, and the Jamestown-Yorktown historic complex in Virginia, which features that maritime heritage.

"There's nothing in between," he said.

Tim Slavin, the state director of historical and cultural affairs, will testify in support of Carper's proposal at today's hearing. He said a heritage area is a wonderful opportunity to tell the many stories of Delaware's coastal area.

"That was the heartbeat of Delaware," he said. The heritage area "would be linking it all together."

Slavin said he believes national parks teach visitors stewardship and give them a sense of pride.

"That's what we want in Delaware," he said. "It's a national experience."

Historic attractions included

Delaware's coastal heritage park would link a string of possible attractions that draw on many pieces of Delaware's history.

Wilmington historic sites, including Old Swedes Church, the Kalmar Nyckel and Tubman-Garrett Park could be one hub.

A second probably would be created in southern New Castle County and would link attractions such as Fort Delaware and Fort DuPont near Delaware City.

In Kent County, the hub would include Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge and the John Dickinson Plantation, along with fishing villages such as Leipsic, Little Creek and Bowers Beach.

Sussex County's hub would include historic sites in the Lewes area, along with Fort Miles in Cape Henlopen State Park, the Nanticoke Indian Museum in Oak Orchard and the Indian River Lifesaving Station south of Dewey Beach.

"A national park in Delaware will boost tourism and the state's economy," Carper said. "A national park here will put Delaware on the map and make the state a more attractive place to visit."

decided to stop by the riverfront today, and i took some skyline pictures.

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/9360/dscf25432yp.jpg

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/5033/dscf25448sh.jpg

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/395/dscf25459sf.jpg

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3199/dscf25463yj.jpg

looks like the renaissance center is officially on hold.


Renaissance Centre project halted
Concern about historic structures, ability to attract tenants cited


WILMINGTON -- Work on the $50 million Renaissance Centre has halted, raising questions about the future of the on-again, off-again project some see as key to downtown Wilmington's redevelopment.

The developer of the office, residential and parking project in the 400 block of Market Street is in discussions with the city about "various challenges" concerning the project, including the preservation of historic structures on the site, said Richard V. Pryor, the city's director of economic development. Also being discussed are the "office market realities," Pryor said, including the difficulty of attracting tenants.

The office building was announced as a speculative project -- or one being constructed without having a major tenant signed up. With the impending $35 billion sale of MBNA Corp. to Bank of America later this year and the possibility of job relocation or reduction, there has been concern that the credit card company could dump excess office space on the market. MBNA is the largest corporate owner of real estate in the city, with 1.3 million square feet of space or roughly 14 percent of the office space in the central business district, experts estimate.

"The last thing the city wants is to build a 10-story office building that's empty," Pryor said.

John Rago, communications director to Mayor James M. Baker, said he expects the project to go forward despite "the challenging market conditions."

"At this moment, they're not out of compliance and there have been no discussions about scaling back," Rago said.

Pryor said the city could end up changing the agreement that Renaissance Centre LLC of Wilmington, whose principal is Brock J. Vinton, struck with the city last year for the development of the block bounded by Fourth, Market, Fifth and King streets. The project has been considered a key to redevelopment of the downtown because it would help link the lower North Market Street area with Rodney Square to the north.

Vinton would not comment Thursday.

If the agreement is amended, it will be the latest complication in a development that has been in the works for more than five years. After initial plans in 2000 to build a hotel and office building on the site, the Renaissance Centre group reached a development agreement with the city in 2001 that called for a 225,000-square-foot office building and a 650-car parking garage.

But work was never started. Last fall, it appeared the entire deal was going to fall through after Renaissance Centre failed to purchase the land from the city and Wilmington UDAG Corp. by the deadline imposed in the development agreement. At that point, the agreement already had been amended.

The project was salvaged in November within hours of the deal being canceled after Renaissance Centre LLC paid $2 million of the $2.5 million purchase price. However, plans for the 1.4-acre city block were scaled back from the original to a 325-car parking garage and a minimum 140,000-square-foot office building on the vacant King Street portion of the block. Plans called for existing historic buildings on Market, King and Fourth streets to be renovated for residential and retail use.

The agreement stipulated that the entire project, including the historic restorations, must be completed by spring 2007.

The historic properties already have caused problems.

Work began in the spring on the demolition of four buildings at Fourth and King streets. In the process of cleaning up debris, the contractor hired by Renaissance Centre LLC accidentally hit the corner of a historic building targeted for preservation, according to R. Robert Ruggio, senior vice president of Commonwealth Group, a Vinton company.

At that point, work stopped.

Now, Ruggio said, the plan is to go back to the Wilmington Design Review and Preservation Commission in early November with a plan to dismantle the facades and rebuild them in their original form.


TIMELINE
2000: Initial plans call for a hotel and office building on the site.

2001: The Renaissance Centre group reaches a deal with the city that calls for a 225,000-square-foot office building and a 650-car parking garage.

November 2004: Within hours of the deal expiring, Renaissance Centre LLC pays $2 million of the $2.5 million purchase price. But plans are scaled back to a 325-car parking garage and a minimum 140,000-square-foot office building.

Spring 2005: A contractor hired by Renaissance Centre LLC accidentally hits the corner of a historic building targeted for preservation.


http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20050930&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=509300339&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1
An artist's rendering shows what the intersection of Fourth and Market streets was expected to look like.


at least the gateway plaza is moving along. the area around h.b. dupont park should be pretty nice in a couple years.

^The News Journal used the OLD rendering. How tacky of them.

I was pretty aware this wouldn't go through too well with the sale of MBNA by those bastards.

I will tell ya what, tho. This removes one of Christina Centre's obstacles. Maybe they will prelease earlier now. Wilmington is still growing rapidly despite this.

The WSFS headquarters seems to be moving along quicky, and had no problem preleasing. I can't wait to see it rise.

who planned on using the renaissance center?

Bancroft Mills neighbors riled by plan for condos
Developer seeks approval to demolish 21 buildings


WILMINGTON -- Residents of affluent neighborhoods near the historic Bancroft Mills don't seem to mind the 174-year-old mill being torn down. They just don't want to see a $500 million, 1,000-unit condominium project that includes 12-story buildings put in its place.

Hundreds of residents from the Highlands and Forty Acres neighborhoods are expected to attend a meeting tonight of the Wilmington Design Review & Preservation Commission, where O'Neill Properties, of King of Prussia, Pa., will ask for permission to demolish 21 buildings on the former mill site.

The mill, which sits along the Brandywine near the Delaware Art Museum, was the largest and longest-running mill on the Brandywine. Built in 1831 as a cotton cloth mill, it most recently operated as a textile-finishing plant for Wilmington Piece Dye Co. until the company went bankrupt in mid-2003.

With almost 1,000 luxury condominiums and town houses planned for the 21-acre site, the $500 million Rockford Falls development is the biggest residential project now going through the city planning process. By comparison, the $125 million Christina Landing project involves 391 town houses, apartments and condominium units being built on a seven-acre parcel along Wilmington's riverfront.

Bancroft Mills neighbors, such as Irene Shadoan Lott, worry the development would increase use of the area's already overtaxed sewer system and increase traffic, not to mention drastically change the look of the area with the loss of the historic mill buildings and the height of some of the proposed condo buildings. Some of the buildings could be 12 stories or taller, blocking many neighbors' cherished views of the creek.

"I realize they have a right to develop the property," Lott said. "We'd just like to see something a little lower and a little less dense."

A decision on the developer's demolition request is not expected tonight, said William S. Montgomery, Mayor James M. Baker's chief of staff. He said several more meetings will take place before the commission makes a decision.

J. Brian O'Neill wants to build 999 luxury condominiums on the site, which he bought for $7.4 million in a bankruptcy sale last year. Prices would range from about $400,000 for a one-bedroom to about $2 million for a penthouse suite, said Wilmington attorney Lisa B. Goodman, who represents the developers.

O'Neill and his employees have met with a neighborhood group a few times during the past several months to try to develop a compromise that would address the community's concerns. Because nearby residents are concerned about overcrowding the neighborhood, he has said he will consider building as few as 717 units.

"We're not negotiating because we have to legally but because we want to morally," O'Neill said, noting that the property's zoning designation allows him to build more than 1,000 units on the site.

The comment hints to the fact that, while both sides said the meetings have been cordial, the project is contentious nonetheless.

On Tuesday, for example, O'Neill called the residents selfish, saying they are concerned only with their own neighborhoods and are not thinking about the tax revenue the new condominiums would provide for the entire city.

"Are a handful of very rich people depriving some very needy city folks of badly needed tax dollars?" he asked, referring to the property tax the $500 million project is expected to generate.

Gary Linarducci, head of the neighborhood group, called the company's current plan "unworkable and unconscionable" and said O'Neill's comments offended him.

"I think it's ironic that a millionaire developer can come into the state, propose to tear down historic structures, double the number of housing units in the neighborhood, then say we're rich and selfish," he said.

The development would be built in phases during the next several years. Before construction can begin, however, the property will have to undergo an environmental cleanup expected to cost about $10 million and take about a year, Goodman said. According to a hazardous-chemicals assessment commissioned by the developers, the buildings are contaminated with known or probable carcinogens, including mercury and arsenic.

If the city approves the demolition permit, the company then would need approval of its development plan. It is at that point that many of the issues raised by neighbors will be considered.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20051005&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=510050334&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1

the condo project at bancroft mills is on hold while environmental impacts are being looked into.

where is everyone?

I had dinner at Timothy's on the Waterfront tonite and I snapped a couple of good pictures of the downtown skyline. I think this might be one of the best views of the town.
enjoy!

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/1158/downtown1gg.jpg

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/61/downtown21de.jpg

Very nice shots. They make Wilmington look like it is a larger city than it actually is (a good thing). The tall building on the far right looks like it's under construction. Is it?

Very nice shots. They make Wilmington look like it is a larger city than it actually is (a good thing). The tall building on the far right looks like it's under construction. Is it?

the tall building was topped off a couple months ago, and should be completed by the end of the year i believe. i wouldn't say that this angle makes wilmington look larger than it actually is. wilmington isn't that small of a city; the wilmington msa is around 630,000. but this angle does make the skyline look dense. other angles, such as from i-95 southbound near the brandywine river or the views from eastlake or pennrose or little italy, block many buildings or show the space between many buildings.

the renovated buildings at ship's tavern won a prestegious national award.



Ships Tavern Mews... it rocks
National award for historic restoration project in downtown Wilmington is 'a very big deal'

It's not often an architect gets a call from a builder who says: "You rock!"

But that's the call Curtis C. Harkin of Homsey Architects got when the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced the Ships Tavern Mews historic restoration project in downtown Wilmington had won a national preservation award.

Katherine A. Hearn, director of leasing with Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc. of Baltimore, recalled telephoning Harkin in August with a congratulatory "You rock, Curtis!" Struever Bros., developer of the Mews project, has done several high-profile historic renovation projects, but this was the first time the company had been honored with the National Trust award, Hearn said.

"It's a very big deal, a very big honor, because it's a national award," Hearn said.

It is also one of the rare times a project in Delaware has won a National Preservation Honor Award, a prize that is project-based, said Adrian Scott Fine, director of the Northeast field office of the National Trust. Fine said it has been decades since a Delaware project received the honor.

The trust presented 16 National Preservation Honor Awards at its annual conference held at the end of September in Portland, Ore. Homsey, Struever Bros., the city of Wilmington and Wilmington Renaissance Corp. were honored for their part in the $25 million restoration of a block of historic buildings in the 200 block of N. Market St.

"They give out so few, it's a real honor," said Debra C. Martin, preservation planner with the city.

Harkin, Hearn and Eldon du Pont Homsey, president of Homsey Architects in Wilmington, went to Portland to accept the award.

The award for Ships Tavern Mews was particularly sweet for Harkin, Hearn and Homsey because of the extremely complicated nature of the project. Some also view the prize as a validation of a redevelopment effort that has had some setbacks in the past year, including a financial crisis at Wilmington Renaissance, the nonprofit development group that spearheaded the project.

Altogether, Ships Tavern Mews was five years in development. Homsey characterized Ships Tavern Mews as the most complex project the architectural firm had undertaken in its 70 years of existence.

"We've been living this project for a long time," Harkin said. "Just to get it done was very rewarding."

Ships Tavern Mews, located on the west side of the block on North Market Street, got under way in 1999 as the first phase of an ambitious plan to redevelop one of the oldest sections of downtown Wilmington. The area dates to as early as 1731.

As part of the revitalization, the area was renamed the Ships Tavern District for the historic Sign of the Ship Tavern that was once in business at 230 N. Market St.

The plan was to revitalize the area from Martin Luther King Boulevard to Fourth Street and Shipley to King streets as a bridge between the Christina River waterfront and the area near Rodney Square.

Because apartment dwellers and shops were seen as the crucial to the redevelopment the goal of the first phase was to carve 86 apartments and 33,000 square feet of retail space out of 21 properties.

Not an easy feat

But the buildings, in various states of disrepair, turned out to be a challenge, Harkin said. He recalled a complex of crumbling walls and hidden dangers. Trees were beginning to reclaim the land, growing up through some of the buildings.

The challenge for Harkin was to connect the buildings -- all of which had different floor heights -- so there was a single point of entry.

Complicating matters further, the project had to conform to rehabilitation standards set down by the secretary of Interior so it would be eligible for historic preservation tax credits. In addition, it had to conform to requirements from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and adhere to the city's building and fire codes and historic preservation standards.

Harkin's first design, which gave the Mews its name, called for a little alley 24-feet wide running through the interior of the existing buildings from Second Street to Third Street. But the Parks Service, which reviews applications for the certification for historic preservation tax credits, said the design was too great a change to the historic fabric of the buildings because the plan called for the cutting of party walls, Harkin said.

So it was back to the drawing board where Harkin tried to adjust the concept. In the end, he redesigned the entire project to its current form.

"It was a long, complicated project with lots of moving parts and design changes," Hearn said. "It was nice to be honored for making it through to the end."

While the Renaissance corporation is no longer involved in real estate development in the Ships Tavern District, Carrie White, managing director of the organization, said it is an honor to be recognized for an effort to save old buildings that were badly damaged.

'People coming together'

Fine, of the National Trust said the private, nonprofit organization was aware of the scope and scale of the project.

"We thought is was an extraordinary effort of people coming together to make things happen," Fine said. "We also saw what the project could do for the revitalization effort in downtown Wilmington."

The trust, which is dedicated to saving historic places, bestows preservation awards annually to individuals, organizations, companies and public agencies that use skill and determination to save and maintain the country's architectural and cultural heritage.

Other projects that were winners of the 2005 preservation honor award include The Carnegie Library in Savannah, Ga., built in 1914 as the only community library open to black residents of the segregated city, and the Grain Belt Brewhouse in Minneapolis, Minn., a complex built in 1892 that stayed in continuous operation until 1975.

One of the highest awards presented by the trust is the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award. Crowninshield, one of the founders of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, was an avid collector of antiques, as was her brother, Henry Francis du Pont of Winterthur.

Crowninshield along with her father, Henry Algernon du Pont, saved the original du Pont family home, Eleutherian Mills, after the DuPont Co. in 1921 offered the house and land along the Brandywine River to descendants of company founder, E.I. du Pont. In a twist, Eldon "Don" Homsey, a descendant of E.I. du Pont, is a relative of Crowninshield's.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20051023&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=510230321&Ref=AR&Profile=1003&title=1
Homsey Architects' Eldon du Pont Homsey (left) and Curtis C. Harkin walk in the Ships Tavern District in downtown Wilmington. A $25 million project to renovate historic buildings in the 200 block of N. Market St. won a national preservation award.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20051023&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=510230321&Ref=H1&Profile=1003&title=1
This is an artist rendering of the Ships Tavern Mews project. The project began in 1999 and development took five years.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20051023&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=510230321&Ref=V2&Profile=1003&title=1
The area around Ships Tavern Mews is one of the oldest sections in downtown Wilmington. This is a historical image of the area.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20051023&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=510230321&Ref=H3&Profile=1003&title=1
The challenge for the architect was to connect the buildings to make a single point of entry.

hey joe (or anyone else), did you go on the halloween loop?

pictures from the loop.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=1&Maxh=240
Bus driver Clarence Brown gets into the act as Jason, driving the Burger King and others to their next stop.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=2&Maxh=240
For the record, there were no slayings reported on the bus.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=3&Maxh=240
Not everyone took the bus. Blake Moore rides a flamingo down Delaware Avenue.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=4&Maxh=240
DOMO ARIGATO: Twins Stephen and Jeffrey Ritterson, 21, of Wilmington get robotic. "This is just an excuse to do the robot all ... night ... long," Jeffrey said. On the left are cowboys Eric Brinker and Tim Ritchie.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=5&Maxh=240
MUPPETS SHOW: The Swedish Chef, Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew (Dave Smith, Nancy Bartuska and Ellen Bartuska) outside Kelly's Logan House in Trolley Square.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=6&Maxh=240
BLOW DADDY-O: Adam Sullivan is a zoot suit riot of one.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=7&Maxh=240
Even in costume, the drinks aren't free. This cash machine in Trolley Square had a motley crew in line all night long.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=8&Maxh=240
YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU: "Zombie" Matt Metz of Milford gets some shambling-around money.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=9&Maxh=240
"Brat" Andi Jenkins, 27, with friend Tim Nichols, 28, both of Wilmington. Nichols had a box of Chips Ahoy taped to his shoulder. (In case you didn't get it, the back of his T-shirt read, "Chip on My Shoulder.")

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=10&Maxh=240
DANIEL-SAN: Randie Rosa, 22, of Newark dressed as Ralph Macchio in the shower. It's from a scene in "Karate Kid" -- a film Rosa has seen way too many times.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=11&Maxh=240
ANGEL FOOD: Eating hot dogs are angel Jennifer Browning and witch Amanda Panda.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=12&Maxh=240
RAINBOW BRITE: Annie Myhre shows that Halloween costumes don't have to be murky or lurky.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=13&Maxh=240
NICK AT NITE: Christine Dealy (left) and Kelly Dawson are dressed for "Double Dare."

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=14&Maxh=240
TALL COOL ONE: Pat Scoble, 29, of Philadelphia lives dangerously by dressing as a bottle of beer on a bar crawl. Joining him for a drink is Andrea Awkenbrand, 32, of Philadelphia.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BL&Dato=20051031&Kategori=LIFE&Lopenr=1031001&Ref=PH&Item=15&Maxh=240
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT: Andrew Campbell, dressed as a slice of pizza, eats a slice of pizza. Cannibalism? Discuss.

anyone know the name and specific location of the old roman catholic church that was somewhere on french street? i remember going to mass there once in a while as a kid (as opposed to our regular parish), but i don't remember where exactly it was located. i believe some of the government buildings were built on the site.

ing direct wants to add jobs, and also wants wilmington to grow...

ING relishes competition
Internet bank plans to add more jobs in Delaware, posts strong third quarter despite arrival of new rivals

By TED GRIFFITH
The News Journal
11/11/2005


Intensifying competition doesn't seem to be slowing down ING Direct. The nation's largest Internet bank plans to add 150 jobs in Delaware next year.

"We're doing quite well, and we're looking forward to growing here in Delaware," ING Direct CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann said Thursday.

Kuhlmann said ING Direct plans to increase jobs in several areas, including auditing, marketing and technology, in 2006. He said he expects the bank's Delaware employment to climb from 630 now to about 780 by late next year. Nationwide, the work force is expected to increase by as many as 300 to about 1,500 next year, he said. ING Direct, a unit of Dutch financial giant ING Group, opened for business on Wilmington's Riverfront in September 2000 with 131 employees.

Kuhlmann made his optimistic comments as ING Direct reported a 43 percent jump in third-quarter profit to $42.8 million compared with $29.9 million in the same quarter last year.

Throughout the year, ING Direct has seen new rivals move into online savings, a field the bank once had almost entirely to itself. Among those launching online savings accounts recently are New York-based Citigroup and London-based HSBC, two of the world's largest banks.

But Kuhlmann remained unalarmed, saying ING Direct's experience, focus and low costs will allow it to continue to thrive. ING Direct, which offers savings accounts and mortgages, operates no traditional bank branches. It does business by Web, phone, mail and through four Internet cafes, including one in Wilmington. Without a branch network to support, the bank keeps its costs low and passes those savings on to customers in the form of high interest rates for savings accounts and low mortgage rates, Kuhlmann said.

Kuhlmann claims the recent influx of competitors is actually good for ING Direct's business because it focuses people's attention on savings.

"We're delighted that others are crowding into the market," he said. "We're growing by $1 billion in deposits per month."

But an executive at a rival bank said he believes competitors are taking at least some business from ING Direct. Ted Morehouse, chief marketing officer for New York-based Emigrant Direct, said his bank's online savings account has attracted $5 billion in deposits since the beginning of the year, with some of that money coming from former ING Direct customers.

Morehouse said he couldn't provide an estimate for how much money his bank has attracted from ING Direct accounts. Emigrant Direct's savings account offers a 4 percent annual yield while ING Direct offers 3.5 percent. Neither bank requires minimum deposits, charges fees or imposes restrictions on withdrawals for the savings accounts.

"My guess is that they would wish we had never come into the marketplace," Morehouse said.

The fierce competition among online savings banks has been great news for consumers, leading to steadily rising savings rates at the banks, said Greg McBride, an analyst with Florida-based Bankrate.com. ING Direct, for example, boosted its savings rate a full percentage point from the 2.5 percent it was paying in early 2005.

But McBride said not every bank is upping its rates for savers. Many traditional banks still are offering paltry interest rates, with the average savings account paying about half a percentage point, he said.

"You have to shop around to find the best rates," McBride said. "You won't necessarily get them by staying put at your local bank."

Although it's no longer offering the highest rate among the online banks, ING Direct's savings account still is paying seven times the national average, which seems to be enough to pull in depositors at a swift pace.

Strong quarter

The bank said it added 1.1 million customers over the past year, boosting its U.S. customer base to 3.2 million. Deposits, as of the end of September, stood at $37.8 billion, up 44 percent from a year ago. Its mortgage business also is growing, with ING Direct approving 2,250 mortgages in the third quarter totaling $551 million, up 57 percent from $350 million last year.

Revenue climbed to $130.3 million from $107.5 million in the year-earlier quarter.

ING Direct's parent company, ING Group, also reported sharply higher third-quarter profit. The Amsterdam-based financial services company said it earned 1.9 billion euros, or about $2.3 billion, up 20 percent from the 2004 third quarter, boosted by growth at its ING Direct banks.

In addition to the United States, ING Direct banks operate in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

U.S.-listed shares of ING Group closed up $1.10, or nearly 4 percent, to $30.86 on the New York Stock Exchange.


http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20051111&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=511110354&Ref=AR&Profile=1003&title=1

another skyscraper is coming to delaware avenue. it should make for a nice commercial area near i-95.


http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20051119&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=511190309&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1
Blue Cross Blue Shield's new headquarters at 800 Delaware Ave. will be developed and owned by Delle Donne & Associates Inc.


Blue Cross to move headquarters to Wilmington
State's largest health insurer plans to relocate nearly 700 employees to Delaware Avenue site


Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware, the state's largest health insurance company, will relocate nearly 700 people from five locations in New Castle County to a new $35 million granite and glass headquarters on Delaware Avenue in Wilmington in spring 2007.

The move, announced Friday, is a significant development for the Delaware Avenue corridor east of I-95. Now, for the first time in decades, two new office towers within a few blocks of each other will be under construction in Wilmington. Since the boulevard serves as the gateway to the city from the west, a change in the skyline there will provide a vibrant entrance to the city, experts have said.

"Now, you're going to see people walking along the sidewalk -- it will looked lived in. It's going to be a 'Wow.' It won't be: 'What's missing?' " said Leigh Johnstone, senior vice president of Grubb & Ellis Co., a commercial real estate services company in Wilmington.

As an incentive, the city has agreed to provide as much as $1.2 million if the Blues increase total employment in the city to nearly 700 by the year 2007, said William S. Montgomery, Mayor James M. Baker's chief of staff.

"We've known we need to diversify the work force downtown and this is just another example of that strategy," Montgomery said. He said the city had been talking with the Blues informally about its real estate needs for three years.

The headquarters at 800 Delaware Ave. -- the first relocation for the Blues headquarters in 40 years -- will be developed and owned by Delle Donne & Associates Inc., a real estate development company in Claymont. The Blues have signed a 10-year lease on the building with Delle Donne.

The building will become home to people working in physician and hospital services, customer services, marketing, finance, information technology and administration.

Plans call for a 150,000-square-foot addition to a 10-story building owned by Delle Donne. The building will be constructed on top of a garage built in 1995 with the Wilmington Parking Authority.

Ernest F. Delle Donne, president of Delle Donne & Associates, said he expects to begin work next week.

"It's one of the top five deals we've ever done," said Delle Donne, who in the early 1980s built the office tower at 802 Delaware Ave. now occupied by ING Direct, the nation's fourth largest savings bank. "It represents an extremely important asset to our real estate portfolio."

Although the Blues looked at a number of locations, the Delaware Avenue site made the most sense in terms of visibility, accessibility and amenities for employees, said William E. Kirk III, vice president and general counsel of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware.

The company will have a sign on top of the building visible from I-95. With the site just off the highway, it will be more convenient for employees and visitors. Most of the employees will be able to park underneath the building. For the first time, the company will have a fitness center for employees and an on-site cafeteria.

The move also makes sense from an economic standpoint, Kirk said.

"Having people in five locations is very, very inefficient," Kirk said.

Plans call for about 450 employees who work at three locations in Brandywine Hundred and one location in Christiana to relocate beginning in mid-2007. The approximately 235 workers at the company's headquarters at 14th and Orange streets also will be moved.

The 90,000-square-foot headquarters in two buildings on the Brandywine will be sold, Kirk said. Many companies have been shedding company-owned real estate holdings in recent years because leasing space allows them to be more flexible and have less capital tied up in a nonperforming asset, experts said.

For the city's part, growth in the downtown work force is worth the investment, Montgomery said. The purpose of the incentive is to preserve the jobs already in the city and help with the relocation of the employees outside the city.

"So long as Blue Cross hits its employment targets, the city will recover this incentive within three years time, primarily in terms of wage tax," Montgomery said.

The project also will serve as a boost to the city's western front door, an area of the city that for a time appeared to be in decline.

The area began to change in 2004, when ING Direct spent about $15 million to renovate 802 Delaware Ave. The 14-story building, constructed for Chase Manhattan Bank (USA), had been a vacant, hulking presence along I-95 for more than a year. Today, it has one of ING's Internet cafes on the ground floor facing Delaware Avenue.

That was followed by a decision earlier this year by WSFS Bank to relocate its corporate headquarters from a historic building on North Market Street in downtown Wilmington to a new $90 million glass office tower at Delaware Avenue and Washington Street.

The 15-story WSFS Bank Center, now under construction, is the first multi-tenant office tower in the Rodney Square area since the late 1980s. The bank will be a major tenant, as well as a minority owner, in the 350,000-square-foot building that is being developed by Wilmington real estate developer Buccini/Pollin Group Inc. on land owned by the bank. Besides WSFS, the law firm of Morris, James, Hitchens & Williams has committed to space.

With the start of construction by Delle Donne, there will be two construction cranes on the city's Delaware Avenue skyline, a sight not seen since the building boom of the 1980s, following the state's passage of favorable banking laws.

"The last time time I saw two cranes next to each other in Delaware was two cranes looking for lunch at my fish pond," Johnstone said.

i was looking at some old news journal articles from early 2003 to late 2004 i had photocopied for a class. some of the ideas or plans suggested for wilmington:

build a deck over i-95 to connect trinity vicinity to cool springs. the deck would cover i-95 from 8th street to delaware avenue.

aig's headquarters (500,000 sq ft of office space) on the south shore of the christina river, east of christina landing (somewhat across the river from the train station).

a couple schools near south market street just within or outside of the city limits. this would include new houses and light commercial buildings in the neighborhood of southbridge.

demolish the houses between lancaster avenue and second street to build a wide boulevard with a park in between. a light rail would also be included. this boulevard would go between union street and jackson street.

a national park on the seventh street peninsula that would emphasize the swedish colonization in delaware and the prominent role delaware played in the underground railroad.

revitalize the neighborhood of west center city, roughly bounded by 8th and 9th streets and west and madison streets.

That whole deck over I-95, national park, light rail thing was all part of one proposal.

It looked like one of the coolest things i had seen proposed for the city....

too bad it was a little too far over the top because i don't think they are going to build it.

That whole deck over I-95, national park, light rail thing was all part of one proposal.

It looked like one of the coolest things i had seen proposed for the city....

too bad it was a little too far over the top because i don't think they are going to build it.
I guess it was a little "over the top" :wink2: :colgate: but anyway, that idea seems a little dated to me. I think they need to come up with something more ambitious. But it's a good start (if it happens).

i've been hearing about a children's museum on the riverfront near frawley stadium. does anyone know about anything about this?

i've been hearing about a children's museum on the riverfront near frawley stadium. does anyone know about anything about this?

Haven't heard of it.

I do know that the Justison Landing project's details are supposed to be released soon (that's right down on the riverfront).

Leak the details of Justison Landing when possible, fellas.

Leak the details of Justison Landing when possible, fellas.

All i can say is that it looks really nice....

townhouses...hotel....retail....i saw some inside details in the spring

I can't remember many of the specifics....only that when i saw it it looked realy nice

i'm guessing that justison landing will be just north of kahunaville, right where the river bends?

i'm guessing that justison landing will be just north of kahunaville, right where the river bends?

I think so. It's where the old maintenance yards were for the city DOT.

I'm pretty sure that's where you're talking about.

i'm pretty sure we're thinking of the same place.

it's good that they're going to do something with this area. it isn't so great to be greeted to the riverfront, coming down madison street, and having a storage facility being the first thing you see.

i'm pretty sure we're thinking of the same place.

it's good that they're going to do something with this area. it isn't so great to be greeted to the riverfront, coming down madison street, and having a storage facility being the first thing you see.

agreed.

any word on the justison landing project? when is the information expected?

any word on the justison landing project? when is the information expected?

I did a three-day internship with buccini/pollin last spring as a project for school.

I believe they said that the information was supposed to be released in late 2005, so they might be a little bit delayed.

I was asked to keep the detailed information I learned confidential, so all i can say is that the preliminary plans looked really nice with a roughly 4 block area being created on the riverfront with a "roundabout" and hotel as its centerpiece. There was also an abundance of mixed use retail, office, and residential. They were throwing around numbers such as $700k for some of the townhouses down there, so i believe it will be a very upscale area once developed.

sounds very nice. it will be nice to mix in some housing along the riverfront with all the commercial amenities. hopefully the city eventually gets rid of all that grit and industrial stuff near the madison street exit, and some of that stuff near the maryland ave/mlk blvd off-ramp.

From suphilly at SSP, 1919 Market, the Opus condo:

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/1269/opuseast2uj.jpg

From suphilly at SSP, 1919 Market, the Opus condo:

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/1269/opuseast2uj.jpg

i only wish they would build that in wilmington.

should look great in the philly skyline.

wsfs bank center is starting to take shape.

the juniper bank building by the riverfront is also taking shape.

From Baltimore - We're trying to give this away. Want it?
http://home.comcast.net/~jonathanpreston/cordish.jpg
I went through Wilmington the other day and saw lots of progress. The waterfront is coming along nicely. Keep up the good work!

^^ how tall is it? i think we could use a new tallest building. but i still don't like that thing at the top. and if i remember correctly, someone said that building will be residential. i think our tallest building should be commercial, since we are the "corporation capital of the world".

Wada guy, I think that flat peice at the top has to go and then it would look a lot better.

work will begin on monday morning for the blue cross blue shield building.

Construction to start on building for Blues
Health insurer will move headquarters to Delaware Avenue



First thing Monday morning, real estate developer Ernest F. Delle Donne will start construction of a new $35 million office building in Wilmington with the stroke of his Magic Marker.

With little fanfare, Delle Donne, 48, said he will sign his name on the first steel beam before it is erected at 800 Delaware Avenue.

"It's a good luck thing," said Delle Donne, who performed a similar ritual in the early 1980s when he began construction of what was then the Chase Manhattan USA building at 802 Delaware Avenue.

The Chase Manhattan Building unofficially launched the city's building boom after the state passed the Financial Center Development Act in 1981, a law that sparked the migration of dozens of credit card banks to Delaware. The building is now occupied by Wilmington-based ING Direct, the nation's fourth-largest savings bank.

Delle Donne, who is president of Delle Donne & Associates Inc. of Claymont, estimated he has signed 20 beams over the years.

G. Martin Moeller Jr., senior vice president of the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., said there is a tradition of signing beams before construction starts and after the steel is erected. Sometimes the construction workers, architects and construction managers sign them, he said.

"Artists get to sign their paintings," Moeller said. "This is a way for developers to sign their work. It's pride of ownership."

The current Delle Donne project is a new headquarters for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware, the state's largest health insurance company. Blue Cross Blue Shield will relocate nearly 700 people from five separate locations in New Castle County and Wilmington to the granite-and-glass building by spring 2007.

While many developers have groundbreaking ceremonies, this project is unusual because the 175,000-square-foot structure is not on the ground. Instead, the building will be on top of an existing garage that was built in 1995 with the Wilmington Parking Authority.

Once completed, it will be joined and opened up to the 10-story building next door, which Delle Donne owns. Blue Cross Blue Shield will have more than half of the combined structure, which will be a total of 300,000 square feet, Delle Donne said. The Blues will have a sign on the building that will be visible from I-95.

Currently at the building site, a triangular plot bounded by Delaware Avenue, 11th and Adams streets, the building crane is being erected, Delle Donne said.

Farther east on Delaware Avenue at Washington Street, the steel is going up for a $90 million multitenant building called the WSFS Bank Center. WSFS Bank will relocate its downtown corporate headquarters from Ninth and Market streets to the new 15-story building.

Andy DiSabatino, chief executive of EDiS Co., the construction manager for the Blue Cross Blue Shield building, said the project is unusual because it is a "vertical expansion."

"What's unusual is there were no back hoes. No dust," DiSabatino said. "But they're very difficult projects to do."


http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20051215&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=512150361&Ref=AR&Profile=1003&title=1
Delle Donne & Associates
An architect's rendering shows the granite-and-glass structure to be built atop a 1995 parking garage.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20051215&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=512150361&Ref=V2&Profile=1003&title=1
Delle Donne & Associates also built the building next door at 802 Delaware Ave. for Chase Manhattan in the 1980s. It is now occupied by savings bank ING Direct and its Internet cafe.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051215/BUSINESS/512150361/1003

i drove by the wsfs bank center on delaware avenue today. it was nice not to have a bare spot in the sky anymore in the hb dupont park area. delaware avenue should be pretty nice when the wsfs bank center and blue cross/blue shield building are done.

It is so great to see so many cranes in the sky, and so many steal beams rising in the skyline.

I am a candidate for haste to be made on the River Tower so we can have 4 cranes on the skyline.

I also asked Santa for the bankruptcy of Bank of America before January 1st. Guess Santa Claus was busy. :(

It's also noteworthy that the land south of "A" Street (south of Christina Landing) is really getting cleared out all the way to Pharaoh's Nightclub. This is also the occurence next to the AAA and Juniper building on Justison Street.
Would I be right to say that the land facing the obverse side of the pending Juniper will be for the Justison Landing hotel?

i would've liked a homegrown, delaware corporation being the most dominant in our city. but such is the way of the business world. i'm optimistic that another delaware company will grow into a superpower sometime soon. our state certainly has produced some good companies in it's history.

i believe justison landing will be between the new juniper bank building and kahunaville. it's just a parking lot/ storage area for dart; not a good use of riverfront property at all.

the south market and southbridge area needs a lot of help. there are a lot of industrial storage areas, warehouses, distribution centers, etc. a bar, the "lux", just opened off of walnut street near hoawrd street. lux shares a building with diamond chemical, the company that supplies bathroom cleaner to the summer pool i belong to. http://boards.philadelphiaeagles.com/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif

i am not sure what the plans are for the land at the riverbend on the south shore. maybe the hotel will be there. my guess is that it will be on the north/west side of the river, since there's better access to i-95. of course, there were plans in 1994 to build an exit, and possibly even an expressway, that would connect with i-95 just south of frawley stadium and the shipyard shops, cross the christina river, and connect with route 13 near southbridge. i heard of one proposal that would have it extend beyond route 13 (with an exit at route 13) and end at the neighborhood of southbridge, thus giving southbridge fast access to i-95 and to other sections of the city. the exit/expressway was deemed pretty much necessary in order to get development on the other side of the river booming.

^^ .....I think it's only a matter of time before that area gets developed. The only thing hampering the development in my mind is the fact that southbridge is one of the worst neighborhoods in the city. It seems, though, that the riverfront has no end in sight. I read an article yesterday that a major law office is moving from delaware ave. to the new office building next to the stadium.

i saw that the city put up a new sign on 11th street near the intersection with orange street (by the hotel dupont entrance) with directions to notable places like the library, market street, etc. i'm guessing the city is planning on putting these signs in various place in the city?

Just a little status on 500 Delaware Ave

Here's a picture of the progress as of last week posted by Mglan80 @ SSP
http://www.addresswilmington.com/1-8-06-WSFSsite.JPG

The following is a few screenshots I took from the www.500delaware.com site

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware7.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware4.jpg

The building will really grace the avenue once built.

i see you also went into that parking garage and took pictures. i took some pictures of the wsfs center a couple weeks ago which i will use in a thread in due time. did you also take pictures of the blue cross/blue shield building going up on top of the parking garage at 900 delaware ave?

i agree, delaware avenue will be very dense and urban-like when the wsfs center is done. a great gateway from i-95! it's already feeling a little denser.

justison landing information was in the news journal today. one change so far: no hotel anymore.


NEW COMPLEX COMING TO RIVERFRONT
$400 million plan includes condos, offices, shops


A prominent Wilmington developer plans to build a $400 million complex of condominiums, office space and retail shops on a Riverfront parcel targeted last spring for a smaller project anchored by a hotel.

The site, on the east side of South Madison Street, south of the AAA Mid-Atlantic headquarters building, is to be cleared of buildings including the city's public works garage, a state Department of Transportation maintenance building and the Wilmington Rowing Center.

The development planned by Buccini/ Pollin Group Inc., to be known as Justisons Landing, no longer includes a hotel, which was part of the original plan announced in February, partner Robert Buccini said Wednesday.

The project now involves 700 condominiums, 300,000 square feet of offices and 75,000 square feet of retail space.

"The group that oversees development on the Riverfront would like a hotel to be built closer to the Chase Center on the Riverfront," Buccini said of the former arts center now marketed as a convention site.

Buccini said construction on about half of the condos will begin in May, with the entire project taking about four years to build.

Preliminary development plans are scheduled for introduction at the City Council meeting tonight.

To make the deal work, the state has agreed to buy two parcels for more than $13 million using transportation funds and a loan from its economic development program.

One parcel is about 10 acres owned by Delmarva Power along the I-95 viaduct west of the 12-acre site to be built on by Buccini/Pollin. The other is a site west of the viaduct along Beech Street owned by the DuPont Co. and formerly used for laboratories.

The state will use the Beech Street land as a new site for its maintenance building. The Riverfront Development Corp. will use some of the Delmarva Power site for a multilevel parking garage for AAA Mid-Atlantic and the Buccini/Pollin complex, which also will have its own parking.

AAA employees are now parking on a surface lot Buccini will soon start building on. The parking lot was part of the city's and state's commitments to AAA when it relocated its headquarters to the Riverfront.

Mayor James M. Baker said the city is pleased by the promise of more development.

"This is a successful partnership between the state, the [Riverfront Development Corp.], the city and the private sector," he said. "It is bringing people, jobs and energy back to the city and we hope the progress is able to continue."

The state commitment was nailed down in Dover on Wednesday during a meeting of the General Assembly's Joint Bond Bill Committee.

But it won't happen exactly the way Transportation Secretary Nathan Hayward III wanted it to.

Hayward wanted to draw the $13.2 million from the Transportation Trust Fund. Instead, the committee voted to commit about $10 million as a loan from the Delaware Economic Development Office's fund, with the rest coming from the transportation fund.

The DelDOT maintenance building and the parking garage will not use up all of the land on either parcel. The state and city plan to market the rest for more redevelopment down the road.

When the excess land is sold for future projects, the proceeds will be used to replenish DEDO's loan fund.

To prepare the Beech Street and Delmarva Power sites for resale, the state also plans to use up to $3 million in "brownfields" cleanup money controlled by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20060119&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=601190332&Ref=V2&Profile=1006&title=1

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060119/NEWS/601190332/1006

What is it with the flat "canopies" above new buildings? Are they supposed to create shade or something?

No hotel... but I think you've missed one exciting thing:

700 Condominiums.

Christina Landing has roughly half the land space as this project, with approximately 173 apartments, 200 condos, and 60 rowhomes.

Condos are bigger than apartments. Calling for 700 in that compact an area has to call for highrises. At least, if not above the scale of Christina Landing.

700 Condos blows my mind. This is roughly 1300 people in a 2.5 block area.

That's some good density, guys.

We're finally approaching (with Christina Landing AND Justison Landing) the critical mass needed for a decent nightlife and downtown area.

What is it with the flat "canopies" above new buildings? Are they supposed to create shade or something?

huh? http://69.93.183.37/html/emoticons/huh.gif

an article in the news journal today talked about the renaissance center. new plans: a hotel on the upper floors.


Developer adds new twist to Renaissance Centre
Amended plan calls for new hotel atop scaled-down project


WILMINGTON -- The developer of a $50 million project intended to help revitalize the heart of downtown has proposed another change to a one-city-block development that has been stalled for years.

Brock J. Vinton of Renaissance Centre LLC told City Council he wants to again use a portion of the proposed development -- bounded by Fourth, Market, Fifth and King streets -- for a hotel.

Vinton has until mid-March to show construction will begin on the Renaissance Centre. If he can't, he will forfeit $2 million of the $2.5 million sale price he paid the city for the one-acre block, said city Economic Development Director Richard V. Pryor. The land would return to the city as well.

Some consider the project key to the redevelopment of the downtown area, helping link the lower North Market Street area with Rodney Square to the north.

The project has changed more than once. In 2000, a hotel and an office were on the drawing board. A year later, the plan called for a 225,000-square-foot office building and a 650-space parking garage, with no hotel. In 2004, the plans were scaled back to a 140,000-square-foot office building and 325-space garage.

Now, Vinton is proposing a hotel on the top half of a building of the same size, about 10 stories, Pryor said. The garage would shrink to 192 spaces.

"The latest proposal would save him money, first and foremost," Pryor said. "I think it's gotten smaller because the marketplace and competition have stolen prospective tenants over time."

Vinton could not be reached for comment.

The request was introduced without discussion at Thursday's City Council meeting. It will be deliberated publicly at a committee meeting next month.

Last year, Vinton asked that the agreement be changed to allow him to knock down all historic buildings on the block. The agreement with the city called for the facades to remain. The city protested and Vinton withdrew the request, Pryor said.

The project has been plagued by problems. Some of the historic structures were damaged by a demolition contractor. And city officials said contractors removed asbestos from the roofs of some of the buildings improperly. Instead of hosing down the tops of the buildings and using tarps and chutes, workers simply used sledgehammers, sending asbestos dust flying into the air.

The project has remained stalled since the summer of 2005. Located directly across King Street from the $137 million New Castle County Courthouse that opened in 2002, the site is now part empty lot and part half-demolished, vacant buildings in disrepair.

Vinton's negotiations with a hotel operator have not been finalized, Pryor said.

He is working to maintain the historic facades with a group called Preservation Initiatives, city Communications Director John Rago said.

Pryor said Vinton doesn't want to gamble on a multimillion-dollar construction loan without some commitments from tenants.

Yet, Pryor remains optimistic. The talks with the hotel firm, which Pryor wouldn't identify, are only three weeks old. "But it's the most hopeful activity I've seen in the last 18 months," he said.

Mayor James M. Baker said the city would move to take back the land and keep the money if signs of imminent construction aren't happening in two months.

"This isn't a phony deadline," he said. "We're giving them every opportunity to break ground, but if they don't, there's no shortage of other developers waiting to take over the site."


http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20060120&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=601200338&Ref=AR&Profile=1003&title=1
This undated aerial photo taken before demolition began shows the one-block-square Renaissance Centre site.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20060120&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=601200338&Ref=V2&Profile=1003&title=1
A 2005 artist's rendering shows what a previous version of the project might have looked like.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060120/BUSINESS/601200338/1003

No hotel... but I think you've missed one exciting thing:

700 Condominiums.

Christina Landing has roughly half the land space as this project, with approximately 173 apartments, 200 condos, and 60 rowhomes.

Condos are bigger than apartments. Calling for 700 in that compact an area has to call for highrises. At least, if not above the scale of Christina Landing.

700 Condos blows my mind. This is roughly 1300 people in a 2.5 block area.

That's some good density, guys.

We're finally approaching (with Christina Landing AND Justison Landing) the critical mass needed for a decent nightlife and downtown area.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20060119&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=601190332&Ref=V2&Profile=1006&title=1

are they going to be building on both sides of madison street? 700 condos is a lot for a limited area like that. parking for residents is also planned for the land. all those condos would be nice, but i don;t fully see how they'll fit all of them on that land. of course, maybe my mental image of the land is smaller than what it is in reality.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20060119&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=601190332&Ref=V2&Profile=1006&title=1

are they going to be building on both sides of madison street? 700 condos is a lot for a limited area like that. parking for residents is also planned for the land. all those condos would be nice, but i don;t fully see how they'll fit all of them on that land. of course, maybe my mental image of the land is smaller than what it is in reality.

Just got back from giving my friend a tour of the riverfront.

The land is fairly large....but for 700 condos + 300,000 sq. ft. of office and more commercial....something is going to have to go upwards.

By the way...Christina Landing is absolutely beautiful.

Does anyone know what the deal is with the second tower??

It's in all of the renderings but i haven't heard much about it.

the river tower at christina landing is being worked on right now, i believe. i thikn it's that hole in the ground right next to the market street bridge. the river tower will be different than the residences at christina landing; condos for ownership will be available at the river tower, as opposed to apartments for rent in the residences.

as for justison landing, i see a skyscraper taking shape there as well. i was under the impression that townhouses were going to be built there, just like at christina landing. that's why i had trouble seeing them build 700 of them there. if they build a skyscraper, they could definitely get the 700 condos in.

the river tower at christina landing is being worked on right now, i believe. i thikn it's that hole in the ground right next to the market street bridge. the river tower will be different than the residences at christina landing; condos for ownership will be available at the river tower, as opposed to apartments for rent in the residences.

as for justison landing, i see a skyscraper taking shape there as well. i was under the impression that townhouses were going to be built there, just like at christina landing. that's why i had trouble seeing them build 700 of them there. if they build a skyscraper, they could definitely get the 700 condos in.


Thanks for the clarification on Christina Landing.

As I had mentioned once before, I had done a few day internship with Buccini/Pollin last spring as a school project, and was given a sneak peak at a computer fly-through of the whole project. According to that, except for the hotel, the tallest building was to be no more than 4 floors and a majority of the residential was to be townhomes.

So I too would guess that a skyscraper must be built to accomodate the now 700 condominiums proposed.

The other night was supposed to be the plan overview presented to City Council. I'm surprised nothing has been reported in the paper.

There could be like 6 cranes in the skyline by Summer.

The other night was supposed to be the plan overview presented to City Council. I'm surprised nothing has been reported in the paper.

There could be like 6 cranes in the skyline by Summer.


That's what i thought (about the presentation). I'm anxiously awaiting the details.

i'm glad now that the blue cross/blue shield building is being built on top of that parking garage. the building looks very tall as you come down northbound i-95.

the "barclays" signs replaced the "juniper bank" signs on the juniper bank building on the riverfront a few weeks ago, and this past saturday, the signage at the christina center buildings was changed from "bank one" to "chase". We can expect "mbna" to change to "bank of america" pretty soon.

the "barclays" signs replaced the "juniper bank" signs on the juniper bank building on the riverfront a few weeks ago, and this past saturday, the signage at the christina center buildings was changed from "bank one" to "chase". We can expect "mbna" to change to "bank of america" pretty soon.

I noticed the Barclay's sign last time I was down there. If i'm not mistaken, Juniper is building a new building already under construction. Barclay's is different from Juniper correct?

i believe barclays acquired juniper bank; juniper bank is now part of the barclays group.

Bank of America keeping MBNA's charter in Del.
State preserves millions in tax revenue, but jobs aren't guaranteedMore on the web


Bank of America said Thursday that it will maintain MBNA's bank charter in Delaware, a move that's seen as preserving tens of millions of dollars in state bank tax revenue.

But the bank downplayed hopes that the decision would contribute to keeping jobs of employees who had worked for MBNA in Delaware, as some state officials hope. Bank of America has said it will cut 6,000 jobs in combining its credit card operations with MBNA's, but the bank hasn't said how many jobs will be lost in Delaware.

The bank's verdict on the charter follows a major overhaul of Delaware's bank tax, which raced through the General Assembly and was signed by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner on Jan. 24. The legislation grants Bank of America and other banks with charters in the state up to $15 million in tax breaks.

State officials said the tax reductions were needed to head off an even worse-case scenario: the loss of about $50 million that had been paid annually by credit card banking giant MBNA. The state would have lost that revenue had Bank of America followed its earlier practice of shifting credit card bank charters to Arizona, which had lower taxes on banks until the General Assembly changed the law.

Bank of America on Jan. 1 completed its $35 billion buyout of Wilmington-based MBNA, which had been the state's largest private employer with about 10,500 workers. Banks in Delaware pay about $150 million annually in state bank taxes, with MBNA's share accounting for about a third.

"Delaware's leadership status in economic development and business competitiveness was affirmed again today with Bank of America's decision to locate their charter in our great state," Minner said in a statement.

To keep Bank of America from shifting the MBNA charter, the General Assembly adopted an Arizona-like system in which banks are taxed according to a formula that takes into account real estate and employment in Delaware as well as income attributable to Delaware operations.

The tax break applies to all financial institutions with charters in Delaware. Banks also have the right to be taxed under the old system, which is driven not by operations here, but by income nationally.

Consolidating

Bank of America plans in the late summer or early fall to merge what had been MBNA's credit card bank charter and Bank of America's credit card bank charter, assigned to Arizona, into one charter assigned to Delaware.

The change must be approved by federal bank regulators. Consolidating to one charter will save the bank on federal examination fees.

Bank of America spokeswoman Alexandra Liftman would not link the bank's decision to the tax break. She said it was driven by "the state's favorable business environment and progressive tax climate."

Jobs and the location of the charter are seen as linked because banks have traditionally had their main offices in states where they are chartered. MBNA followed that practice and Arizona had been home to Bank of America's credit card bank unit's main office.

But Liftman said the decision on the charters is not connected to jobs.

"The location of charters is a legal designation, and it's completely separate from decisions regarding jobs," Liftman said.

Good sign

Still, officials said they remain hopeful that the charter staying in Delaware will lead to Bank of America keeping more jobs here than it otherwise would have.

David Swayze, a banking lawyer and a member of the task force Minner named to keep MBNA's charter in Delaware after the merger, said federal bank law "suggests" that banks maintain primary operations in states where they are chartered.

Bank of America employs about 4,800 people in Arizona at its credit card, branch network and other operations.

But it's not known whether the decision to consolidate the Arizona charter in Delaware, puts those Arizona jobs at risk. Any employment impacts on Delaware or Arizona, Swayze said, are "a very closely held secret."

State's 'golden opportunity'
Bank of America downplayed the prospects for job loss in Arizona as a result of the decision.

"We remain committed to our operations in Arizona," Liftman said.

Swayze said the move might open the door to bring other parts of Bank of America's business to the First State. He said the state might be able to market its personal and busi- ness trust laws, which he describes as "state of the art" as well as opportunities to bring its overseas banking operations here.

"This is a golden opportunity for us," Swayze said. "Bank of America is a very sophisticated operation and they probably know about us already, but as they increase their presence and get to know us better, it will help us sell the Delaware advantage."

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, a Democrat who had urged bank executives to maintain the charter in Delaware, said he's hopeful the charter decision may be "modestly helpful" in keeping jobs.

"There's almost a halo effect that grows out of this because the largest credit card bank in the country is going to be [chartered] in Delaware," Carper said.

David Bakerian, president of the Delaware Bankers Association, acknowledged that there's "no guarantee" the charter decision will help retain jobs, but he said he is hopeful based on the traditional link between bank presence and the location of charters.

"We'd certainly rather have the charter, than not have it," Bakerian said.

Gamble pays off

Lawmakers took some heat for the speed with which they passed the bill -- which was on Minner's desk and signed into law in less than an hour and a half.

But, like Rehoboth Democrat Rep. Peter Schwartzkopf, they were pleased with the results.

"We rolled the dice and we won," Schwartzkopf said. "We were able to show that the Legislature can act quickly and be responsive."

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060203/NEWS/602030347/1006

More great news for Wilmington. I have had my doubts about Minner in the past, but she is proving that she does care about the city of Wilmington (if not just Delaware). I had no idea that law was passed late last month. I guess I have been out of the loop.

I have some potentially bad news about Justison. I may have been jumping the gun about potential high-rises for that project. Apparently, they may be looking at several 5-10 story structures rather than amassing a couple high-rises. Still, this will mean a little more low-rise density in the view off northbound 95. Still, the amount of people in the area won't change, which is good for that area, and the Ships tavern area. That, linked with the Renaissance center may finally connect "uptown" with "downtown."

I have to say, though, I am alltogether happy with the decisions BOA has made as of late. I really was imagining a doomsday scenario, none of which seems to be playing out.

bank of america is doing alright in keeping what mbna had done in the state. some things are unavoidable, such as cutting management and executive jobs due to mergers and whatnot, and while it's sad to think wilmington might lose some knowledge and talent if those people move away, it could've been a lot worse. i think the worst thing in my opinion is that buyout of mbna itself; it was nice to see one of "our" companies dominating downtown.

i saw that one of the new signs is up at the i-95 north delaware avenue exit. it says "welcome to wilmington; a place to be somebody". i guess the city decided not to go with a new slogan?

i saw a couple of construction guys at the renaissance center site today. maybe work will reume there this spring or even sooner.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20060120&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=601200338&Ref=V2&Profile=1003&title=1

nice tower. :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

i saw a couple of construction guys at the renaissance center site today. maybe work will reume there this spring or even sooner.

Do you know what the deal is with it now? Is it going to be constructed as the rendering has it depicted?

nice tower. :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

That rendering is ancient.

Here is the new model:

Courtesy www.addresswilmington.com
http://www.addresswilmington.com/05-21-RenAd.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/ad-1.JPG

It is a few stories taller, and closer to what they will build. The height could go up a few depending on what is needed/decided for the hotel floors.

Because of the hotel, there may be some changes toward the top, perhaps a logo for the hotel chain (?). Also, because Brock Vinton was in a negotiation with the Renaissance LLP group, he is under a strict time limit, or he will lose the property, and lose millions.

Haha.. it sucks for him, but it's great for us.

Awesome......

So basically either that gets built...or the land gets turned back over to the city and they sell it to a more reliable developer such as Buccini. I'd say that's a win win.

Win-win, baby.. And word on the curb is, that, if Brock loses his land, there is a Philly guy rehabbing some of the Ships Tavern Mews on Market street who could be in the position to take the land, and get the job done better than Vinton.

Upon researching something else (which I did not find), I also found the second rendering of Renaissance Center with the info, and the pic in the skyline, for which I edited the above post. It is apparent, in the newer rendering, that the building would be taller than that excuse-for-a-giant-super-nintendo-tape courthouse, consequently blocking the ugly thing from view.

(Sure, it fills the skyline, but that thing is fucking ugly)

thanks for that second picture. i've never seen it before.

you think the new courthouse is ugly? i don't really mind it. it does have a distinct shape though, like you pointed out.

I love the design of the courthouse in Wilmington. It carries the traditional brick facade that's held throughout the rest of Wilmington while incorporating the nice contemporary metal into its scheme, offset by its large glass windows, allowing the building to come to life both inside and out..

:puke:

there are plenty of other skyscrapers in wilmington that i think are uglier than the courthouse. you needn't look further than up or down king street to find two of them; the alico building a block north and "the other" jp morgan chase building a block south aren't too great to me. then you have 300 delaware avenue (the one that says citizens bank on it). i think 300 delaware avenue just beats out the alico building at my least favorite. of course, i'm not including skyscrapers in other areas of town, like the condos and retirement homes along delaware and pennsylvania avenues, or like the lower-class apartment towers in the east side.

Bad news, fellas.

Renaissance Centre released the new version. I hate it.

http://www.addresswilmington.com/444KingSt.jpg

Sorry for all the negativity lately :/

Bad news, fellas.

Renaissance Centre released the new version. I hate it.

http://www.addresswilmington.com/444KingSt.jpg

Sorry for all the negativity lately :/

the new rendering looks a lot like the old, old rendering.


http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20060120&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=601200338&Ref=V2&Profile=1003&title=1

Bad news, fellas.

Renaissance Centre released the new version. I hate it.

http://www.addresswilmington.com/444KingSt.jpg

Sorry for all the negativity lately :/
damn, fellas. that's really sad. it looks like about 10 floors got knocked off of it. i'm really sorry to see this rendering. 15 floors would've looked wonderful on wilmington's skyline.

i get the impression that they're going with this altered design because of the storefronts that are incorporated into the bottom floors of the renaissance center. maybe they're doing the lower floors in that manner so that they can try and attach lower market street to lower downtown better.


edit: i just realized that the old, old rendering and the newest rendering appear to be showing the view from 4th and market streets. the courthouse is in the background for both renderings. so those storefronts are already there, not new ones being built into it.

uggggghhhh.....so much for the win/win

it doesn't seem so bad to me. i believe it will be a little taller than the juniper bank building that's going up near the reiverfront, so it might feel a little bit taller in real life than it is in the rendering. it would've been nice if it was taller, but would it have stuck out a little bit more from i-95 if it was too much taller than everything else in front of it? even with the shorter height, it might fit in well with the oterh buildings because it might "ease into" the taller buildings better.

it doesn't seem so bad to me. i believe it will be a little taller than the juniper bank building that's going up near the reiverfront, so it might feel a little bit taller in real life than it is in the rendering. it would've been nice if it was taller, but would it have stuck out a little bit more from i-95 if it was too much taller than everything else in front of it? even with the shorter height, it might fit in well with the oterh buildings because it might "ease into" the taller buildings better.

I don't think its an ugly building at all. I just believe that there was so much more potential for the site and so many more enthusiastic developers that would have been willing to take a risk on the property.

I don't think its an ugly building at all. I just believe that there was so much more potential for the site and so many more enthusiastic developers that would have been willing to take a risk on the property.

very true. the developer will reap that, though, if later on they see that the property could've been developed more, and that they could've profited more from developing it. in the meantime, maybe those other enthusiastic developers will look at other locations in lower downtown, and that by losing out at that site, they decide to develop another site.

the city council has a busy night tonight.


Council to vote on major development
700-home, $400 million project proposed for Wilmington Riverfront



An agreement to build what officials are calling the largest economic development project in Wilmington's history is up for a City Council vote tonight.

The $400 million Justison Landing project proposed for along the Christina Riverfront would bring about $7 million a year in tax revenue to the perpetually strapped city government, project developer Rob Buccini said.

But equally important, the project's residential component -- 700 condominiums and apartments -- would provide the thing that could make the riverfront development that has taken place during the last decade a lasting success: people in the area around the clock. It also would put 300,000 square feet of office space and 75,000 square feet of retail space along the Riverfront.

"When you think about it, this project is as good for the city as a casino," Buccini said.

While the project could create that kind of revenue without the social worries that would accompany a gaming facility, not everyone is happy with the plan. Councilman Kevin F. Kelley, who represents the district that includes the part of the Riverfront on which the development would take place, said he will vote against the agreement tonight.

"My constituents in Browntown and Hedgeville feel like the residents of the neighborhoods in Atlantic City," he said. "They live near where all the development money is being spent but get none of the benefits."

Hedgeville resident Claudia Brady said she would like to see a program that would have Buccini's Buccini/ Pollin Group renovate existing properties in neighborhoods near the Justison project.

Buccini said he would listen to any ideas the community has. Buccini/ Pollin has invested in other parts of the city where it has built new projects, he said.

Council President Ted Blunt and Councilman Norman Griffiths said they support the project. Mayor James M. Baker's Chief of Staff William S. Montgomery said the tax revenue the project would create would help all neighborhoods in the city, including the ones mentioned by Kelley.

Kelley said he would like to delay voting on the development agreement until the community hears more about it. He also would like to see the city earmark some of the new tax money for police, youth programs and code enforcement. And he would like Buccini/ Pollin to make some sort of commitment to Browntown and Hedgeville.

Montgomery said the agreement needs to be inked now. Interest rates and other issues could kill a deal in the near future.

"If we don't move on these kinds of developments and seize the opportunities when they arise, we lose," he said.

Developer to clean up site

The 11-acre development site is owned by the city and state. It includes the city's Public Works Yard, a state Department of Transportation maintenance building and the Wil- mington Rowing Center. They would be cleared to make way for the development.

About 500 of the 700 residential units would be sold, and the rest would be rental apartments. Most of the condos would be sold for $350,000 to $500,000. A one-bedroom apartment would go for about $1,100 a month. Prices for the condos have not been set.

Construction would begin in April and would take at least three years to complete, Buccini said.

Christina Landing complement

Michael Purzycki, executive director of the Riverfront Development Corp., the agency created by state officials to spearhead private development on the riverfront, said the Justison project is the perfect complement to Buccini/Pollin's Christina Landing, a residential project on the other side of the river.

"We've always felt you need residential to transform the riverfront, and I think Justison Landing will change the riverfront and the city forever," he said. "Christina Landing is a magnificent start, but we need a certain amount of critical mass on the north side of the river as well."
http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20060216&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=602160354&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060216/NEWS/602160354/1006



City Council weighs Renaissance plans
Wilmington project could be scaled back



WILMINGTON -- The City Council will vote tonight on whether to allow the developer of a long-stalled downtown hotel and office project to scale back his proposal yet again so he can afford to proceed.

Developer Brock Vinton of the Commonwealth Group has asked the council to allow him to build a parking garage with 190 spaces instead of the 325-space structure he currently is committed to build in the block bounded by Fourth, Market, Fifth and King streets.

The project, which has been on the drawing board since 1999, has run into bad luck ever since, Vinton said. He had to keep making the design smaller because the Buccini/Pollin Group has taken away many of his potential tenants with its office-building construction in the Rodney Square area several blocks to the north, he said.

"Unless we want to commit economic suicide, we have to downsize," he said.

Changing proposals

In 2000, the Renaissance Centre project called for a hotel and an office building. A year later, the plan called for a 225,000-square-foot office building and a 650-space parking garage, with no hotel. In 2004, the plans were scaled back to a 140,000-square-foot office building and 325-space garage.

Now, Vinton is proposing a hotel on the top half of a building of the same size, about 10 stories. The negotiations with the hotel company could still fall through, Vinton said.

Cost estimates for the project have dropped from $88 million in 2000 to about $25 million to $30 million now, city Economic Development Director Richard V. Pryor said.

Even recently, the project's problems have continued. Some historic buildings on the site were damaged by a demolition contractor last summer. City officials said contractors sent asbestos dust flying into the air by using improper removal techniques. This week, Vinton said, nearby businesses complained that their ceilings collapsed when drilling was done on the site earlier in the year.

The developer bought the block from the city for $2.5 million. He has paid $2 million so far, based on the terms of the sales agreement. Vinton's group could lose the land and the money if construction doesn't begin soon, Pryor said.

Support for the project

City officials still support the project, despite its problems. The site, directly across King Street from the $137 million New Castle County Courthouse that opened in 2002, is now part empty lot and part half-demolished, vacant buildings in disrepair.

Pryor said it could fill in the gap between Buccini/Pollin Group's work in Rodney Square to the north and its efforts along the Christina Riverfront to the south.

"We have to get that hole in the ground eradicated," Pryor said. "We need to finally get some life into that spine between the two ends of the barbell."
http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20060216&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=602160367&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060216/NEWS/602160367/1006

^^ ...I saw that in the paper this morning. I don't think Justison's Landing will have any problems. In reference to the Renaissance Center article, is he asking to scale it back to what the latest renderings show? Or does he want to downsize even more. Pssss....notice how he blames Buccini for scalining down the project....lame excuse in my book.

Channel 6 WPVI just did a story on the 6 o'clock news about the Justison's Landing Project.

They had renderings already available for the media to show....and let me say they look very nice. No high-rises, but plenty of mid-rise (i tried to count the stories for the short time they showed them....it was like 6 or 7). We should see soon enough in the papers tomorrow though.

Hey guys!

Yeah, I saw the Justison Landing piece on Action News. Can't for the life of me understand why Councilman Kelly thinks it's Buccini's responsibility to renovate other blighted areas. By investing in the city at all, Buccini is helping increase the tax base which should, if the city doesn't mismanage the funds, flow funds to all areas of the city. The city should thank their lucky stars Buccini is here at all.

That said...Does anyone else think building 700 additional residential units is a risky move for Buccini? Hey, I'm glad he thinks big, but where are all these people going to come from? He hasn't even sold all the condos at the river tower and the Christina Landing apartments aren't exactly renting like hotcakes at 2000 dollars each.

Glad I found this board... thought I was the only one who liked following Wilmington development

G

Couple other things I've noticed....

Yes, as previously mentioned some land south of CL towards Pharoh's has been bought by the RDC. I'm curious what the plan is for this area as the lots purchased aren't right across from CL (except for the corner lot). Looks like only the land behind Grubb Lumber and Mike's auto glass back to the next street are owned by the RDC. Seems a developer would need the above mentioned businesses property as well to be able to build. Anybody know if either of these businesses are planning to move/sell?

I'm also bummed out Chase hasn't replaced the BIG BankOne signs with new Chase signs (I know they replaced one of the smaller signs). I'm hoping they're in the process of doing this because those signs really add a lot to the look of the city at night. Anyone know anything about that?

Lastly.... what's up with the Ships Tavern Parking Garage? Thought I read in the News Journal two months back Mayor Baker saying he was happy to finally announce that after years of stalling, the garage would begin in January... still no sign of work on the lot. Has it been cancelled again?

G

Hey guys!

Yeah, I saw the Justison Landing piece on Action News. Can't for the life of me understand why Councilman Kelly thinks it's Buccini's responsibility to renovate other blighted areas. By investing in the city at all, Buccini is helping increase the tax base which should, if the city doesn't mismanage the funds, flow funds to all areas of the city. The city should thank their lucky stars Buccini is here at all.

That said...Does anyone else think building 700 additional residential units is a risky move for Buccini? Hey, I'm glad he thinks big, but where are all these people going to come from? He hasn't even sold all the condos at the river tower and the Christina Landing apartments aren't exactly renting like hotcakes at 2000 dollars each.

Glad I found this board... thought I was the only one who liked following Wilmington development

G

Let me be the first to welcome you.

It's nice to see another person interested in one of the most underrated small cities in America. I laughed too at the people who think it is other people's (Buccini's) responsibility to clean up their neighborhood for them. If I wake up tomorrow and read in the papers that the council rejected the plan, I will be extremely aggravated. On the subject of the condominiums, I personally do not believe he will have a problem selling the condominiums. I feel that Justison's Landing is in a more optimal location for city living, and I believe that people are more willing to buy around here than rent.

As for your second post....sorry but I can't help with a single question.

Couple other things I've noticed....

Yes, as previously mentioned some land south of CL towards Pharoh's has been bought by the RDC. I'm curious what the plan is for this area as the lots purchased aren't right across from CL (except for the corner lot). Looks like only the land behind Grubb Lumber and Mike's auto glass back to the next street are owned by the RDC. Seems a developer would need the above mentioned businesses property as well to be able to build. Anybody know if either of these businesses are planning to move/sell?

I'm also bummed out Chase hasn't replaced the BIG BankOne signs with new Chase signs (I know they replaced one of the smaller signs). I'm hoping they're in the process of doing this because those signs really add a lot to the look of the city at night. Anyone know anything about that?

Lastly.... what's up with the Ships Tavern Parking Garage? Thought I read in the News Journal two months back Mayor Baker saying he was happy to finally announce that after years of stalling, the garage would begin in January... still no sign of work on the lot. Has it been cancelled again?

G


1. i don't know what the plans have been in the last few years, but 12 years ago when the christina river redevelopment project started getting on people's minds, the plan was to dig a harbor in that area, and surround it with all sorts of developments. it looked like they really wanted to give baltimore's inner harbor arun for their money. among the things they had planned:

>a high-rise condo along the river (christina landing pretty much fills this role), which would also sit at the entrance to the manmade harbor
>a civic center, which would probably function as an arena for a hockey team and for concerts and whatnot
>an outdoor theater for symphony concerts and other concerts and plays in the summer
>a multiplex movie theater around where kahunaville is now located
>several museums, including a museum on wilmington's swedish heritage, and another one that would be the main building for a possible site in the national park service
>a huge condo project (much like justison's landing), involving hundreds of units for ownership or rent. these condos, however, would be across the river from frawley stadium (and frawley stadium was supposed to face the river in a couple renderings), and would be split up like so: small channels would be dug out of the land, creating little coves that would be parallel to each other; in the process, several parallel peninsulas would be created. the condos would line up along each little cove, and each would have their own slip for a boat. a skyway would connect condos to each other over the cove at the entrance of the cove.
>several parks on either side of the river; the main park being an urban wildlife refuge south of all the developments (that area where the delmarva power water tank is).
>an onramp going over the christina river, connecting i-95 to the harbor. one rendering i saw had the onramp extended all the way to southbridge, with a couple exits, making it appear as if it would be an entirely new interstate (i-395 or something like that)

and there a couple things i missed as well. as you can see, the city is only scraping the surface of what they aspired to have. i guess if you shoot for the stars, you'll end up doing more.

2. from what i've seen, the chase re-branding has already started taking place. three christina center ("the other" bank one building in lower downtown) already says "chase" on it instead of "bank one". it's only a matter of time before everything is replaced. i have a friend that works in three christina center, and he says that they are in the process of rebranding right now.

3. i don't know much about the parking garage. i guess it's on hold. there's construction fences in the area but those have been there for a while.

First, in reply to the downscaling of the Renaissance Center, the rendering I posted above is kind of insider, from a fellow poster at SSP who knew about WSFS center a year ago. He is always getting news as is breaks.

The rendering IS the scaleback. Notice that, however much shorter the new rendering is, the new one again shows it from the top of the hill at Market Street. It's still gonna be like 10 stories, but I still see a lack of a parking garage there.

Yo Gregg! Welcome to the forum, glad you find our drug-laden city's improvement interesting. I grew up on 4th Street myself - what about you?

In regards to the garage on 2nd Street, Al's is currently slated for demolition, and the garage is underway.

Buccini should have no problem filling those houses. There are many people who aren't living in Wilmington because Trolley Square is full, and there aren't too many sure bets in terms of good 'hoods in the city these days.

Plus, people in general are moving back into urbanity.

a few things:


Wilmington's council OKs historic project


WILMINGTON -- Construction of hundreds of condominiums, town houses and apartments will start along the Christina riverfront in April.

City officials are calling the $400 million Justison Landing project the largest economic development project in Wilmington's history. City Council approved the sales and development agreement 12-1 Thursday night.

The developers estimate the project will generate about $7 million a year in tax revenue for a city government that considers annual operating deficits a given. City officials are being more cautious, saying it will bring in about $3.2 million in new tax money each year.

"This is an easy thing to do," Councilman Norman D. Griffiths said.

Councilman Kevin F. Kelley Sr. cast the lone "no" vote. The project is in his district. He accused Mayor James M. Baker's administration of rushing the agreement with Buccini/Pollin Group to the council floor and criticized the developers for not holding community meetings that would have addressed the project's impact on nearby neighborhoods.

Rob Buccini said he spoke with Kelley months ago about community meetings. He said Kelley was in charge of setting up the sessions but never did so.

"I told him I'd meet with any group on any day of the week, at any time," Buccini said. "He never got back to me."

City resident Kevin Quinn said he was glad that the council voted to move the project forward.

"I just can't see why anybody would oppose this," he said. "This project will increase the city's tax base. That will help, not hurt, the Browntown and Hedgeville neighborhoods."

The project calls for 700 condominiums, town houses and apartments, as well as 300,000 square feet of office space and 75,000 square feet of retail space, to be built during the next three years.

Part of the 11-acre site is owned by the city and, until recently, the state. It includes the city's Public Works Yard, a state Department of Transportation maintenance building and the Wilmington Rowing Center -- all of which will be demolished. Buccini/Pollin will buy 6.7 city-owned acres for $9.6 million. It recently bought the state's 4.3 acres for $5.6 million.

The project includes a state commitment of up to $9 million for environmental cleanup of the site, which previously was used for heavy industry. The soil is contaminated with heavy metals, carcinogens, oil and gas.

To help make the project happen, the state also has agreed to buy two nearby parcels for more than $13 million using transportation funds and a loan from its economic development program.

One parcel is about 10 acres owned by Delmarva Power along the I-95 viaduct west of the development site. The other is a site west of the viaduct along Beech Street owned by the DuPont Co. and formerly used for laboratories.

The state will use the Beech Street land as a new site for its maintenance building. The Riverfront Development Corp. will use some of the Delmarva Power site for a multilevel parking garage for AAA Mid-Atlantic and the Buccini/Pollin complex, which also will have its own parking.

AAA employees now park on a surface lot Buccini soon will be building on. The parking lot was part of the city's and state's commitments to AAA when it relocated its headquarters to the Riverfront.

In other business:

•The council voted 8-5 to change the development agreement for the long-stalled Renaissance Centre project, which calls for office buildings and a hotel on the block bounded by Fourth, Market, Fifth and King streets. The agreement allows developer Brock Vinton to build a smaller parking garage in order to save money.

Councilwoman Loretta Walsh, one of the five members who voted against the change, said the city would be better off trying to reclaim the block it sold to the developer. She said the delays in the project and missteps along the way, including demolition errors, are unforgivable.

"I think it's disgraceful," she said of the project. "I think it stinks."

•Bishop Aretha Morton and the Revs. Derrick Johnson and Earl Cooper asked the council for support in a planned series of 10 to 20 meetings at community centers across Wilmington with young people from the neighborhoods where most of the violence in the city takes place.

"Our children have an awesome, awesome way of speaking with us," Morton said. "We've got to find a way to listen and hear our children."
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060217/NEWS/602170351/1006



State considering reacquiring city landmark
Rodney Square building's cost may be significant hurdle, legislators warn


WILMINGTON -- The former Public Building, where a former president spoke in the early 20th century and a notorious murder trial was held, could become public property once again.

Gov. Ruth Ann Minner's office confirmed that discussions have been held about the state reacquiring the landmark Rodney Square building, which was most recently known as the Daniel L. Herrmann Courthouse.

The building, dedicated in 1916, had been the home to all city and county government offices for more than 60 years. Teddy Roosevelt spoke from its steps in 1918, and it was the focal point of parades, protests and rallies for generations.

In the late 1990s, former prosecutor and political insider Tom Capano was tried there -- and convicted -- for the murder of Anne Marie Fahey, scheduling secretary for then-Gov. Tom Carper.

"The building is obviously in a prime location in downtown Wilmington and it is something the governor would consider," said Kate Bailey, Minner's spokeswoman.

Bailey had no details, however, on the discussions or what kind of deal might be considered. Minner has not made a formal proposal to reclaim the building or set any money aside in the budget for the acquisition.

Alexandra Liftman, spokeswoman for the property's owner, Bank of America, would not comment on talks. "We haven't finalized a decision," she said.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Myron T. Steele strongly supports reacquiring the building, describing it as an "ideal" home for the state Supreme Court and the offices of the governor, both of which are now housed in the crowded Carvel State Office Building.

"We've made it clear we'd love to see the building come back to the state," Steele said.

Moving the governor and the Supreme Court would free nearly two floors in the state building, located about two blocks away from Rodney Square.

Many attorneys are also enthusiastic about the concept.

"I think it is an excellent idea," said former Attorney General Charles M. Oberly III. If the state could get the building back for "a decent price," he thinks it would help accommodate future growth while reclaiming a piece of state history.

It could also make a "first-class home" for the Court of Chancery, Oberly said, leaving additional room for the criminal courts to expand in the New Castle County Courthouse.

"I think if you were to ask any of the corporate business lawyers where they would rather bring clients or try cases, everyone would say they would rather try it on Rodney Square (than in the new courthouse)," attorney Richard K. Herrmann said.

The old courthouse was named for Herrmann's father, Daniel Herrmann, a former chief justice of the state Supreme Court.

The price of acquisition or renovation could be a significant hurdle, however.

"Obviously it is an issue of money," Steele said, and several key legislative leaders downplayed the proposal's chances of success this week.

"I can't see that happening," said House Majority Leader Wayne A. Smith, R-Clair Manor, adding he would rather see the building used to lure new business to the area. "One thing Wilmington doesn't need is another tax-exempt property," he said.

"We would need to think very seriously about how badly we need that," said Sen. Robert Venables, D-Laurel, co-chairman of the Joint Bond Bill Committee. "I don't think the money is there."

"It would be nice, but it is a matter of affordability and priority," said Rep. Roger Roy, R-Limestone Hills, the other co-chairman of the Bond Bill Committee. "It is an interesting concept. We will look at it if it is proposed."

Richard V. Pryor, director of economic development for Wilmington, said a taxable occupant would be best, but making the building a home for the governor and the state Supreme Court "would not be bad at all."

He said the facility may not lend itself to "a taxable use," while at the same time it has "a certain elegant charm that would fit a Supreme Court very well."

The state sold the Herrmann Courthouse to MBNA in 1998 for $13.5 million. Under the terms of the sale, state and city officials promised not to seek any historic or landmark protection for the building or oppose any redevelopment.

The state courts left the Rodney Square building four years later, in August 2002, for the new, $137 million New Castle County Courthouse farther down King Street.

The 90-year-old Herrmann building, with its heavy columns and classical facade, was built as a home for all municipal and county government offices as well as the courts, but eventually it grew too crowded.

City and county offices moved to the Louis L. Redding City/County Building in 1977, and the Wilmington police left in 1988.

Shortly after MBNA took possession of the building, bank officials announced they planned to make the historic structure the company's world headquarters and launched a massive renovation effort.

Exterior work was completed in 2004, but interior work stopped shortly before Bank of America acquired the company and has not been completed. The building is reportedly an empty shell.

The twin spiral staircases of marble and iron are said to remain, but the third floor's wood-paneled courtrooms were removed.

Attorney Joseph Hurley said the state would get back more than a building if an agreement is reached with Bank of America.

"The edifice itself has a dignity. There is majesty, standing outside and looking in. It looks like what you would expect to be the home of the Supreme Court," he said, before adding, "This is such a good idea, it will never happen."

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20060217&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=602170361&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&title=1
Before being sold to Bank of America, MBNA planned on making the former Public Building on Wilmington's Rodney Square its headquarters.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060217/NEWS/602170361/1006

and in other news, ing direct will be adding 100 jobs in wilmington this year.

Joe-

Have you seen workers at the Ships Tavern Garage? I drove by quickly yesterday and it hadn't looked touched yet. Does anybody have a rendering of the completed garage?

I used to live near Rockford Park, I live in Christina Landing now.

Anyone know about the other Wilmington forum at skyscraperpage.com... seems kind of redundant to this one???

Somebody mentioned they had a friend who works at Chase... maybe you can find out if they plan to replace the big signs too. I'm thinking maybe they decided to do just a sign on the one building to save costs. Every other sign has already been changed over, including the Chase Center sign.

Greg-

This is the latest rendering (unless I've missed something) on the Garage.

http://www.wilmingtonrenaissance.com/images/garage1.jpg

In reply to the Skyscraperpage forum, I am also a regular over there by the name of Joey D.

I wouldn't really compare this to the Skyscraperpage forum on Wilmington. Over there, we have our own construction threads on Christina Landing, River Tower, WSFS Center, and soon-to-be Renaissance Centre.

There is more insider information over there, and more of an interest in the region, as there is a HUGE Philly following who is familiar with Wilmington, and there is better regional following on almost everything over there.

So, if you haven't done it already, register, and say hi. You'll find more updates over there. (This means you too, Matt, Nomad)

And, if you are a Wilmingtonian, you know Philly, and you'll likely be interested in the Philly discussions, in addition, they have some fun meets I've heard about in Center City with booze, etc. I'm always working so I never make the meets.

i'll be signing up there soon. i don' have any "real" email addresses though. i wish they would just let me use hotmail. :bash:

Hey Joe I just signed up. I went to the Mid-Atlantic forums but couldn't find the specified threads that you mentioned. Am I looking in the right place?

Hey Joe I just signed up. I went to the Mid-Atlantic forums but couldn't find the specified threads that you mentioned. Am I looking in the right place?


what kind of email did you use? hotmail or yahoo or gmail?

what kind of email did you use? hotmail or yahoo or gmail?

I have comcast.

Btw Joe I meant the Northeast forums...not Midatlantic as i had stated in my question above.

Naaah. Hardly anybody frequents the northeast forum.

Under Projects and Construction, there are two subforums called City Compilations and Highrises.

Under the City Compilations forum, there is a Wilmington and a Philadelphia thread.

Under the Highrises forum, there is a WSFS Center thread, Christina Landing Thread, and a Comcast, Murano, and other Philly buildings.

Naaah. Hardly anybody frequents the northeast forum.

Under Projects and Construction, there are two subforums called City Compilations and Highrises.

Under the City Compilations forum, there is a Wilmington and a Philadelphia thread.

Under the Highrises forum, there is a WSFS Center thread, Christina Landing Thread, and a Comcast, Murano, and other Philly buildings.

Hey thanks a lot.

The crane is going up for the River Tower today; looks like they're starting to get rolling over there finally.

The crane is going up for the River Tower today; looks like they're starting to get rolling over there finally.

That's good news....3 cranes on the skyline....this is going to be pretty cool.

That's good news....3 cranes on the skyline....this is going to be pretty cool.

4 i believe. the crane might still be up for the juniper bank headquarters at the riverfront.

4 i believe. the crane might still be up for the juniper bank headquarters at the riverfront.


You know what...I think you may be right....the more the merrier I say.

from what i saw when i was in wilmington today, there are 5 (4.5 really) cranes on the skyline. the crane at the river tower is half-up (hence .5), and there are two cranes at the juniper site on the riverfront.

i thought this place was a museum? what is it used for anyway?


Company hopes to turn Gibraltar into offices
Du Pont descendants propose $10 million redevelopment


A Yorklyn real estate company controlled by du Pont family members is proposing to redevelop a once-grand du Pont city estate on Pennsylvania and Greenhill avenues into a small office park.

CCS Investors LLC said it plans to spend $10 million to convert the 6.5-acre Gibraltar estate -- including the vacant 30-room mansion -- in Wilmington into high-end offices. Besides the redevelopment of the 16,000-square-foot house, plans call for a new, two-story office building to be constructed behind the existing garages and greenhouses.

CCS, which signed an agreement to buy the property from owner Preservation Delaware Inc., is scheduled to meet with neighbors Wednesday at the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington to discuss the plans. For the project to move forward, it must get a zoning variance from the city.

Partners in CCS include David Carpenter, a descendant of the founder of the DuPont Co. and son of R.R.M. "Ruly" Carpenter III, the former president of the Philadelphia Phillies. Other partners include Drake M. Cattermole, who is married to Carpenter's sister, Lucinda, and Dennis P. Snavely. The group has some experience in renovating older homes as offices. Three years ago, the group spent approximately $2 million to convert to offices a 1925 country house at the northeast corner of Kennett Pike and Del. 141 in Greenville.

Preservation Delaware and CCS are now negotiating the price for Gibraltar, said Trent Margrif, executive director of the nonprofit statewide preservation organization. He said the price most likely would be "minimal" because of the poor condition of the mansion. With the exception of caretakers, the house has been vacant nearly 16 years.

"I can't imagine a scenario where we wouldn't sell it for a minimal cost," Margrif said. "The renovation of that mansion alone will probably be $7 million to $9 million. And the cost to renovate it goes up $500,000 to $1 million every year that nothing is done. We need to see something happen."

The original 1844 house was owned by Isabella Mathieu du Pont and her husband, Hugh Rodney Sharp, in 1909. Over the next several decades, the couple tripled the size of the house, creating what is considered a fine example of a city estate from that period.

Isabella du Pont was the sister of Pierre S. du Pont, head of DuPont from 1915 to 1919 and one of the three cousins who moved DuPont toward science and innovation. Their younger sister, Margaretta L. du Pont, is David Carpenter's great grandmother.

The CCS deal would not affect the public's viewing of the elegant Beaux-Arts gardens off Greenhill Avenue. The gardens were designed by pioneer landscape architect Marian Cruger Coffin. Coffin designed more than 130 gardens on the East Coast in the first half of the 20th century, including many for the du Ponts.

Preservation Delaware, which manages the gardens, will probably lease them from the new owner, Margrif said. The gardens, which are visited by about 5,000 people each year, must remain open to the public under a conservation easement reached with the state.

In addition, the formal spaces on the first floor of the mansion, which was listed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1998, must be kept in their original configuration and open to the public several days a year.

Because of the restriction on the mansion, only the upper two floors of the house would be converted to offices, said Wendie Stabler, the lawyer for CCS. Current designs for the freestanding office building call for it to be shielded as much as possible from neighbors, she said.

Over the years, there have been several proposals to redevelop the property, including a plan to adapt the house to a small hotel and another to convert it to a bed and breakfast. Both fell through. With the house deteriorating from water damage, Preservation Delaware made the decision in 2004 to solicit proposals from people interested in redeveloping the property.

The CCS proposal was one of 16 proposals that were submitted, Margrif said. All of the plans had some provision for new construction, Margrif said.

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20060225&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=602250316&Ref=AR&Profile=1003&title=1
CCS Investors LLC has proposed converting the 6.5-acre, 30-room Gibraltar Estate in Wilmington into high-end offices, including the construction of a two-story office building behind the existing garages and greenhouses.

^^ ....I thought it just got renovated last year for a museum, like you had said.

I think its an odd place for offices...it's all residential around there. Hopefully they make it look nice, though.

it's about time we started having general discussions about wilmington in here. the baltimore people do that and they have 11 development news threads.

so what's everyone's least favorite neighborhood in the city?

^^ ....Sounds good to me.

Mine is southbridge (I think that's what it's called....the one on the other side of downtown by the riverfront). When I did an internship for Buccini/Pollin last year, I had to drive through there because the market street bridge was closed for its repairs. I can say that that was the only time I was truly scared to be driving around Wilmington (especially the stares I got when taking my dads car the one day).

Aesthetically, I would have to say southbridge as well. I think it is the ugliest, most run-down part of the city; not very appealing to the eye.

southbridge isn't too great, but some of the success at the riverfront might rub off onto southbridge. i remember hearing about some condos and townhouses proposed for southbridge south of the neighborhood, and even some townhouses proposed south of the city limits.

the northeast wilmington neighborhoods would be my least favorite in the city. a lot of the area looks like garbage; riverside, penn rose, and other neighborhoods are littered with abandoned buildings and trash. eastlake is doing better with the infill and whatnot, but it's still a bad neighborhood. i'm not concerned driving through southbridge like you are, but i won't go into some of the neighborhoods of northeast wilmington in the light of day while in my car with the doors locked.

southbridge isn't too great, but some of the success at the riverfront might rub off onto southbridge. i remember hearing about some condos and townhouses proposed for southbridge south of the neighborhood, and even some townhouses proposed south of the city limits.

the northeast wilmington neighborhoods would be my least favorite in the city. a lot of the area looks like garbage; riverside, penn rose, and other neighborhoods are littered with abandoned buildings and trash. eastlake is doing better with the infill and whatnot, but it's still a bad neighborhood. i'm not concerned driving through southbridge like you are, but i won't go into some of the neighborhoods of northeast wilmington in the light of day while in my car with the doors locked.

That's a close, close 2nd for me.

I resent that comment i'm from East 22nd and North Claymont


Any way does anyone have a map that shows the neighborhood layouts?

I resent that comment i'm from East 22nd and North Claymont


Any way does anyone have a map that shows the neighborhood layouts?

another delawarean http://boards.philadelphiaeagles.com/style_emoticons/default/towel.gif

i don't have a map of the neighborhoods, but i can tell you the general boundaries of the neighborhoods i know about. maybe others can contribute as well. i'll have to do that tomorrow when i have time.

Any way does anyone have a map that shows the neighborhood layouts?

again, i don't have a map, but here are the neighborhoods i am aware of, and their approxiamte boundaries and/or central areas. i'm sure i'm leaving out some neighborhoods, so maybe someone can add on to what i have.

brandywine hills: in north wilmington, east of the miller shopping center, and north of west lea blvd. this is the northernmost neighborhood.

shellpot: between washington blvd and north market street at the northern fringes of the city limits

penn rose: the area around market street near the riverview cemetery

ninth ward: the boundaries are roughly washington street on the south, concord ave on the west, broom street on the north, and 34th street on the east.

price run: the area east of northeast blvd and at the northern city limits.

eastlake: the area between winchester park and northeast blvd.

riverside: the area just west of winchester park, but not close to the brandywine river

gander hill: the area south of vandever ave and east of northeast blvd

11th street bridge: the area on the north shore of the brandywin river, between the 11th street bridge, 16th street bridge, and vandever ave.

brandywine village: the area surrounding the intersections of market street and glen ave and market street and concord ave, on the north side of the brandywine river.

east brandywine: the area west of kirkwood park and east of walnut street.

east side: the area east of walnut street and downtown.

center city: downtown, including rodney square, h.b. dupont park at delaware avenue and washington street, and king street down to about 8th or 7th street.

west center city: the area west of center city, centered around west and washington streets and 7th, 8th, and 9th streets.

midtown brandywine: the area north of downtown along the brandywine river and east of the hospital.

ship's tavern: the area around martin luther king blvd and lower market street.

quaker hill: the area surrounding the intersection of washington street and 4th street, at the sitee of the meetinghouse.

trinity vicinity (also called shipley run): the area surrounding trinity episcopal church, between madison and adams street and 7th and 11th streets.

the valley: the area around i-95, from snd street to 7th street and madison street to van buren street.

happy valley: the area near i-95 along the brandywine river, from adams street to harrison street and delaware avenue to the brandywine river.

cool springs (also called tilton park): the area south of delaware avenue and west of i-95, surrounding cool springs park and cool springs reservoir

triangle: the area wedged between delaware avenue and pennsylvania avenue, east of the train tracks.

park place: the area north of delaware avenue and east of gilpin park.

delaware avenue: the houses and condos along delaware avenue, from the pennsylvania avenue split to the train tracks.

forty acres: the area west of the train tracks, centered around the intersection of union street and delaware avenue and the area around st. ann's roman catholic church. younger people call this area trolley square, but locals say that trolley square is strictly the commercial center of the area.

trolley square: as i stated in forty acres, trolley square refers only to the commercial area. trolley square is centered around the intersection of delaware ave and dupont street, and includes the bars, the shopping center, the acme supermarket, the and the pizza places and shops. houses in the area are not considered to be a part of trolley square.

the highlands: the areas south and west of rockford park.

little italy: the area surrounding st. anthony's roman catholic church, between union street and clayton street and pennsylvania avenue and 8th street.

wawaset park: the area between greenhill ave and woodlawn ave, and 7th street and pennsylvania ave.

woodlawn (also called the flats): the area surrounding woodlawn park, west of unions street and east of greenhill ave.

westmoreland: the ares on the westernmost fringes of the city limits, near the charter school of wilmington and west of greenhill ave.

union park gardens: the area west of union street and south of lancaster ave.

hedgeville: the area between broom street and lincoln street, and south of lancaster ave.

browntown: the area south of maryland ave, on the southern fringes of the city limits.

anyone, if i've left any out or have them incorrectly, feel free to correct what i have.

:) Thanx appreciated

i forgot to include one of the more prominent and easy-to-remember neighborhoods of all. :bash:

hilltop (also known as the hill): between lancaster ave and 7th or 8th street, from lincoln street down the hill to around franklin street or the bottom of the hill.

after going through all those neighborhoods, i realized that many places in the city weren't listed in the neighborhoods i mentioned. so i did some research and came up with these:

harlan park: between miller road (broom street) and washington street, from about 30th street to lea blvd. somewhat in the center of this neighborhood is p.s. dupont middle school.

2500: between market street and washingotn street, from concord ave to about 27th st. this neighborhood is said to really extend north to monroe street, but i thought that was part of the ninth ward.

6th district: from broom street at the lancaster ave/ 2nd street area, to union street, than south to the city line. i thought some of this area was hedgeville though?

and here are some areas that i haven't been able to identify as any neighborhood yet. can someone else help out with this?

bancroft parkway area near wawaset park, across pennsylvania avenue to stapler park.

broom street to baynard blvd, from concord avenue south to brandywine park.

the area between little italy and cool springs; it doesn't seem to me like it's little italy because the housing is different, but it doesn't seem like it's cool springs because the reservoir seems to make a clear-cut western boundary, and the style of housing around cool springs park is a little different.

the area between washington street and market street, north of riverview cemetery.


lastly, i'm confused on a couple areas. can someone help on this?

the area east of the train tracks and north of delaware avenue, but near trolley square. the area north of delaware avenue near i-95 is happy valley; what's west of happy valley? i've heard two names for this neighborhood: delaware avenue and park place.

where specifically are the boundaries of the northeast wilmington neighborhoods? some of them i thought i knew, but then i see them mapped out by other people and they show different places. where exactly are the neighborhoods of penn rose, riverside, eastlake, eastlawn, and price run? i believe eastlake is the area just east of riverview cemetery, where the urban renewal houses went up, but i've heard differently. also, i've heard that penn rose is eastlawn, and that they are not separate neighborhoods.

also, what are the specific boundaries of the neighborhoods on the west side? i thought neighborhoods like hedgeville and browntown were easily defined; browntown was south of maryland avenue, and hedgeville was at the top of the hill, near st. elizabeth's church and school. now i've found out about this 6th district neighborhood, which seems to overlap onto what i thought was hedgeville.

Wow I wish I could help. I'm quite embarassed to say that I didn't even know Wilmington had that many different neighborhoods.