Governor Jack Markell laid out the details of his new $7 million Downtown Development Districts project this week. It was the first full glimpse the First State got of the plan since Markell proposed it during his State of the State address in January. Delaware Public Media’s Sean Carlson looked into the details of the proposal.
[audio:http://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/markelldowntown.mp3|titles= Delaware Public Media's Sean Carlson examines Gov. Markell's Downtown Development Districts proposal.]
The governor talks about his downtown development plan in historical terms. And it makes sense. Anybody in the country born before 1990 probably remembers a time when the words “city” or “downtown” were synonymous with crime or urban blight.
But in rolling out his Downtown Development Districts plan at stops in all three First State counties this week, Markell noted that the past decade has been different. People are returning to the cities for jobs, for food, for fun. His administration cites census data that shows between 2000 and 2010 the nation’s major metro areas are growing and their downtowns growing even faster.
The plan, Markell says, is to encourage that kind of growth in Delaware.
"For a long period of time downtowns were losing population, there was sort of a mass exodus to the suburbs. But what we’ve seen over the past 10 years or so is that that’s changing and people are moving back into the cities, we think that’s really promising, and we want to accelerate that trend here," said Markell.
So what exactly does that acceleration look like?
If the Downtown Development Districts plan passes the General Assembly, it would set aside $7 million to encourage investment in downtown areas in all three Delaware counties.
Cities could apply to have areas classified as Downtown Development Districts. Private investors in approved districts would be eligible to have up to 20 percent of construction costs paid for by state grants. And state agencies could assist by fast-tracking permits or prioritizing infrastructure projects in those areas.
The initial plan will greenlight development districts in 3 towns or cities in the state, one in each county. That number could grow to 15 over time.
Downtown Wilmington has seen the beginnings of a resurgence in recent years with the continued redevelopment of its riverfront and efforts to make Market Street more attractive for people looking to live or do business there -- the governor’s plan hopes to capitalize on that growth.
Hal Real would know. He’s the founder of World Cafe Live at the Queen on Market Street, which opened only three years ago. He says there is already a noticeable increase in demand for housing around his venue.
"Every apartment that gets rehabbed on Market Street gets rented almost instantly, it’s like a 98% occupancy factor," said Real. "Places are vacant for only long enough to be turned over to the next tenant."
But Real adds that downtown Wilmington still hasn’t reached a “tipping point” to ignite major growth there. If the governor’s plan encourages investors to develop more housing or commercial space downtown, it could give the city the push it needs to reach that point, he says.
Wilmington City Councilman Darius Brown says he sees the program also helping build up housing in neighborhoods around Wilmington’s downtown that can also move the city closer to that tipping point.
“It literally connects the neighborhoods to Downtown. Downtown is a neighborhood, but it’s also surrounded by older neighborhoods like the East Side, and West Center City and Quaker Hill," said Brown. "So, we’re looking holistically at how we can revitalize the whole area and provide opportunity for individuals to live in the city of Wilmington."
Michael Purzycki has worked to build up Wilmington’s waterfront as Executive Director of the Riverfront Development Corporation for almost 20 years. He is all too familiar with the ups and downs, and many times frustrating business of trying to cut through red tape and finding money for development.
He says Markell’s plan shows a recognition that big plans for downtowns can’t be done without help.
"The governor talks about what we accomplished down on the riverfront, it required funding, it required a certain amount of financing," said Purzycki. "People are foolish to think you can do this just on will alone."
Wilmington’s downtown isn’t the only place facing roadblocks to growth.
Dover’s city planner Ann Marie Townshend says building vacancy and crime, two issues that often influence each other, have suppressed investment interest in the state capital’s downtown.
"Both some of the vacant commercial buildings on Loockerman Street and a lot of the vacant residential properties that have fallen into disrepair over the years that surround the downtown all create real challenges from how you cost effectively renovate them, but also as to how you provide safety. Because when you have things like vacant properties, dilapidated properties, they tend to bring crime," said Townshend.
Townshend notes that a big problem for downtown Dover is that once a longtime building owner has vacated a property, a new owner has to spend a lot of cash on bringing it up to current code standards. She thinks the promise of grants from the state and fast permitting could help to alleviate that problem.
State Senator Brian Bushweller (D-Dover) can’t pinpoint one problem per se with Dover, but he says there is definitely a way forward.
"I don’t know exactly what it is, but I can tell you what it needs to do. It needs to bring more people downtown," said Bushweller.
The senator says bringing mixed-use buildings, with businesses on the ground floor and housing on top - the kind starting to take hold on Wilmington’s Market Street - would be a great idea for Dover. Those types of projects have become popular with developers looking to revitalize urban neighborhoods throughout the country, and they are something Markell cited this week as a way to bring more people to Delaware’s downtowns.
But Markell also acknowledges that what downtown Wilmington needs is different than, say, Dover or towns in Sussex County.
He says the public-private partnership nature of his proposal avoids a one-size-fits-all approach.
"In fact, it is different for each downtown, so what we’re trying to do is provide flexibility for each downtown to develop their own plan." said Markell. "We’re not trying to dictate what those plans should look like, it should really be dependent on what the market calls for in each downtown."
Markell adds that in addition to the Downtown Development Districts program leveraging all state agencies to boost growth in Delaware’s cities a percentage of the state’s existing Historic Preservation Tax Credits would be set aside for qualifying projects in approved districts.
Legislation to put the plan into effect already has close to 20 sponsors or co-sponsors and Markell says he is confident it has the necessary support.
