Delaware approves $4.3M in downtown grants

Private developers and at least one religious organization will undertake more than $53 million worth of redevelopment projects in Wilmington and three smaller towns, thanks in part to support from Delaware taxpayers.

Gov. John Carney on Monday announced 10 commercial, resident and mixed-use projects will share in more than $4.3 million in grants from the Downtown Development District program.

Roughly two-thirds of the funding is being directed to projects in Wilmington, while the rest will be shared by developments in Dover, Georgetown and Laurel.

"Revitalizing each of those downtowns and making those towns and those communities stronger is the intent," Carney said. "It's a way the state government can put money into these projects to incentivize the private sector to do the bulk of the financing."

Created by former Gov. Jack Markell in 2014, the DDD initiative's goal is to use a relatively small amount of public funding to help attract new development in once-thriving central corridors that are now blighted by vacant buildings and economic stagnation.

The state has so far invested $21 million in the program, which is administered by the Delaware State Housing Authority. Those funds have in turn leveraged $371 million worth of promised development in eight towns spread throughout Delaware's three counties.

Wilmington, Dover and Seaford were the first districts selected for the program. Smyrna, Milford, Harrington, Georgetown and Laurel were added in 2016.

Approved development projects in those downtowns can receive state funding worth up to 20 percent of eligible construction costs. The grants are awarded in the form of rebates issued after the work is complete.

The city, towns and various counties also have contributed their own incentives.

Carney has proposed providing another $8.5 million toward the program next year.

"The downtowns are the hearts of our communities," said state Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown. "This is going to bring money back into the downtowns to help revitalize them and keep these communities strong so that we can have better property values, better services and downtowns we are proud of once again."

The latest round of funding was announced at the site of the Villas on Broad Creek, a gated duplex community in downtown Laurel.

Five duplexes in the neighborhood were completed in 2005 but the project ground to a halt after the Great Recession.

Developer The Meoli Companies – perhaps best known for its 14 McDonald's franchises on the Delmarva Peninsula – looked at building smaller, more affordable properties but the neighbors already there raised concerns about the impact on their property values, owner Mike Meoli said.

With support from the DDD program, developer The Meoli Companies – perhaps best known for its 14 McDonald's franchises on the Delmarva Peninsula – plans to soon begin construction on five new buildings that will add another 10 units.

The $2.4 million project is being assisted by the promise of a nearly $407,000 rebate from the Downtown Development Districts program once the work is completed.

"Without the Downtown Development District program, quite frankly, I think we'd still be sitting here scratching our heads trying to figure out how we finish this project," Meoli said.

More than two-thirds of the grant funding announced Monday was awarded to seven projects in Wilmington. Of the nearly $3 million earmarked for the city, more than $1 million was allocated to three projects owned by the Buccini/Pollin Group, the largest private property owner in the city.

They include a $52,000 award for a $306,000 renovation of the bar inside the Queen Theater; $557,000 toward a $7.4 million redevelopment of a vacant building at 519 N. Market St. into a hotel and restaurant; and $401,000 to convert a building at 801 N. West St. into a commercial laundry and office space, a project with a total price tag of $5.6 million.

Other projects awarded funding Monday include:

A $1 million in grant funding to YBTZ LLC, the Pomona, New York-based owner of a 12-story office building at 913 N. Market St. that is being converted into apartments with retail space on the first floor.

A church building at 934 N. Lombard St in Wilmington is being redeveloped by Eastside Community Buildings into a combination employment training center, grocery, office space and community center with a $257,400 rebate.

A building in the 800 block of Wilmington's North Church Street that once housed a cabinet manufacturer is being turned into a church sanctuary, offices, classroom space and a community center by Christian Growth Ministries at a cost of $4.6 million. The project is eligible for a $500,000 rebate.

A developer looking to spend $1.5 million on adding a restaurant and apartments to a building at Wilmington's East Seventh Street received an allocation for $208,000.

A $4.7 million medical office building at 655 W. North St. in Dover being built by Faithworks LLC will receive $488,346. The company won $490,000 in late 2015 but had to re-apply after the project was delayed.

A building at 201 E. Laurel St. in Georgetown is undergoing a $2.5 million expansion and rehabilitation to convert it into a laundry facility, coffee shop, beauty salon, apartments and office space, thanks to a $458,000 taxpayer grant.

Another round of grant funding will be announced for large projects the spring.

Smaller projects requesting between $15,000 and $250,000 are awarded throughout the year if funding is available.

Contact reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.

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