Planning officials are hopeful that two proposals to redevelop a section of northeast Wilmington along the Brandywine River will line up and bring improved roads to an improved waterfront area.

The plans concern revitalization in an area from Vandever Avenue to the river between Market Street and Northeast Boulevard.

The Wilmington Area Planning Council, the transportation planning agency for New Castle County, has come up with three proposals to revamp roads in the area that would lead drivers toward the proposed riverfront development and away from homes.

A planning firm hired by Wilmington has been drafting an Environmental Protection Agency-funded report on ways to redevelop that area, which contains two contaminated former industrial sites.

Those proposals include new condominiums, a riverfront recreation park for walkers and kayakers, and a luxury hotel.

Brandywine River plans for condos, park met with caution by residents

All three proposed street plans would create a roadway along the Brandywine known as the "12th Street Connector" between Northeast Boulevard and the 16th Street bridge.

The plans begin at 12th Street where it meets Northeast Boulevard and extends that road eastward.

The plans would each cost over $7 million. After getting public input, the planners will choose one of the three proposals and then seek DelDOT funding.

The purpose is to divert traffic from cars exiting I-495, said WILMAPCO planner Dave Gula.

Currently, drivers going downtown from I-495's 12th Street exit either take Vandever Avenue to Route 13, or drive south on Northeast Boulevard into East Side streets. Both of those routes cause significant traffic in mostly residential areas, Gula said.

Planners are hoping the traffic would flow into an extended 12th Street instead, which they are also designing to be pedestrian- and bike-friendly so that residents can use it to access proposed parks and other development along the river.

Two of the street plans align with the two proposed redevelopment plans.

Sean Garrigan of Stromberg/Garrigan and Associates, the firm drafting the redevelopment proposals, said he plans to wait for WILMAPCO to choose its preferred road design so the firm can choose a corresponding redevelopment plan.

A report on recommended redevelopment plans is due to the city by the end of March.

Redevelopment has been anticipated for over two decades in the neighborhood, which has disproportionately high rates of poverty and unemployment and an aging building stock.

The state established the Riverfront Development Corp. in 1995 to redevelop the Brandywine and Christina waterfronts. When Mayor Mike Purzycki was executive director of the group, plans along the Brandywine were put on hold in favor of the Christina riverfront.

Residents hope to be part of Brandywine waterfront redevelopment

The redevelopment proposals include over 100 new 1- and 2-bedroom market-rate apartment units from Spruce Street to Locust Street, a trail and park along the riverfront, and retail units on North Market and Hutton streets. Condos or a hotel could be built near those shops.

Contact Jeanne Kuang at jkuang@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2476. Follow her on Twitter at @JeanneKuang.

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