Wilmington Development News

[jaysonjaz]

Originally Posted by Joe84323

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.

[Joe84323]

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.

[*Sweetkisses*]

How many square miles in Wilmington?

[Joe84323]

11 sq. Miles. 72,000 Pop. 620,000+ Metro
1874

130 Years later

[jaysonjaz]

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..

[Joe84323]

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:




...more to come!

[xzmattzx]

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/newsjo...perspitch.html

[Builder5000]

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

[jaysonjaz]

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

[xzmattzx]

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.

[Joe84323]

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.

[xzmattzx]

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.

[Joe84323]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

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?

[xzmattzx]

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.

[Joe84323]

True Matt, but we still have this:

Most Financially Fit Large Metropolitan Area in U.S. - Wilmington-Newark MSA

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..

[xzmattzx]

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).

[Builder5000]

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)

[Joe84323]

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.

[xzmattzx]

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

[Joe84323]

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


Huuuuge Skyline, eh?






Christina Landing between the Market St. Bridge






I definitely hit the curb on this one.


It's fat, it's ugly.. I love it.




My Dentist's office - Jefferson Street
Trinity Vicinity/Quaker Hill






Luxury Cars.. Purely Luxurious.



..Just can't have anything nice in this area.



4th Street - Me old Neighborhood




Little ITALY




Just don't piss Harry off.




Union Street - Cutting people off.


Like Provolone on Pizza? No? Neither did the signmaker.




Rowhomes painted on a rowhome.


Drugville, Daddio







Oddly, I doubt they're handicapped.



What's for breakfast.. hmm... CRACK.


Polska hood


Wilmington General, where I was born, used to be here.

This place sold me alcohol at 14.



Playtime


Good Olde Trolley Square




Kentmere Parkway


Rockford


Damn this Atkins. I would kill for a kake.




Pennsylvania Ave




Gibraltar
This place is paradise in Summer. I gotta get some more pics.




















The Highest Point in Wilmington - Hence the name Gibraltar.