Last November, The University of Delaware completed a deal to acquire the shuttered Chrysler assembly plant in Newark with plans to convert it into a science and technology business development and research campus. The next major step in making those plans a reality came Friday when decommissioning of the former auto plant began.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Local politicians and VIP's gathered Friday morning for the ceremonial beginning of the decommissioning of the Chrysler/Mopar plant in Newark. Click the image above to view a slideshow of the morning's ceremony."]
"It begins with the tear-down, and the decommissioning and the salvaging,” said University of Delaware President Patrick Harker. "That will take about 12 to 18 months to completely take down the plant. We are going to take everything down except that one building that’s in the front of the plant, the administration building, which will be the new home for part of our College of Health Sciences."
Since the University purchased the Chrysler plant, Governor Jack Markell (D) has touted the conversion of the site by UD and the state’s role in assisting in that conversion as one of the cornerstone achievements on the path toward Delaware’s long term economic recovery, along with bringing Fisker Automotive to the closed General Motors in Newport and the re-opening of the the former Valero refinery in Delaware City by PBF Energy.
Governor Markell was among the officials on hand Friday to kick-off the decommissioning process at the former Chrysler plant. After taking his turn aboard a backhoe to take part in the demolition of the Mopar building on South College Avenue, in Newark, the governor said he had “a little fun” taking a wall down. “but it will be a lot better to see walls coming back up, not only for the construction jobs that this represents in the meantime, but also more importantly for the good jobs that this facility will represent in the future for generations of Delawareans.”
Harker painted a very optimistic picture of the location’s potential for job creation. "We are looking at about 16,000 jobs over time being developed on this site,” said the UD president.
Vic Costa, executive director of 1743 Holdings, LLC, the wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Delaware overseeing the project, is already charting is impact on Delaware employment. According to Costa the decommission process currently is employing 86 people and 78% of those are Delaware residents, a figure he expects to rise as the project moves forward.
Congressman-elect John Carney says the potential job creation makes it a bit easier to watch the facility which employed so many Delawareans for so long start to disappear. "It’s a little bittersweet," Carney stated, "knowing all the families who were supported by this manufacturing complex. But to think about the possibilities in terms of research and development, in terms of business development, science and technology, health science alliance; really we are excited for the University and the state.'