Bancroft Mills site gets new luxury townhomes two years after devastating fire

Brandon Holveck | The News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Townhomes to be built at Bancroft Mills site Luxury townhomes will soon line the bank of the Brandywine River at the site of the former Bancroft Mills.

Luxury townhomes will soon line the bank of the Brandywine River at the site of the former Bancroft Mills.

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki and partners from Montchanin Builders announced the project at a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday.

The Overlook at Rockford Falls will feature 34 townhomes that border the river and easily connect to trails at Alapocas Run State Park. The site is also within walking distance of Rockford Park and the Delaware Art Museum.

"Not only is this area of Wilmington steeped in natural beauty and rich history, but it is convenient to numerous cultural and recreational amenities," Mayor Purzycki said in a statement.

Construction began in January and is scheduled to be completed by 2020.

The townhomes start at $570,000. Two have already been completed and 20 others have buyers.

Founded by Joseph Bancroft, Bancroft Mills opened in 1831 and was once the largest cotton finishing mill in the country, according to a City of Wilmington press release. It closed in 1961 as textile producers began to leave the northeast for the south, the release said. A fire in November 2016 destroyed most of the historic mill buildings, which had been completely vacant since the early 2000s.

The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In March 2017, Delaware lawmakers approved a rare land swap between the state and the Buccini/Pollin Group that will facilitate a 350-apartment development on the Bancroft ruins, down the hill from the townhomes built by Montchanin.

One of the last visible signs of the mill, its 230-foot smokestack, was demolished in October to make way for the BPG apartments. The time table for the $70 million Buccini/Pollin project was thrown off by the 2016 fire and is still unknown.

Bancroft smokestack imploded early Sunday morning A 230-foot smokestack was imploded on the grounds of the former Bancroft Mills Sunday morning to make way for a redevelopment project.

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Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com.