Town officials in Seaford Monday gathered to celebrate Seaford’s inclusion in Delaware’s new Downtown Development Districts program.
In addition to Seaford, Governor Markell also designated portions of Wilmington and Dover for the program, which focuses on revitalizing the state’s downtown areas. All three will receive funds and incentives to expand commercial, residential and other properties.
Markell says he selected Seaford in hopes of tapping into the town’s rich history.
“This is a beautiful city. I mean, the architecture is wonderful. You can see that it has had a proud history and one of the things I like about Seaford that it honors that proud history and that legacy while very much looking forward,” said Markell.
Nine total cities applied for the designation.
Seaford officials wish to rebuild the town’s commercial center, High Street, through its Riverfront Enterprize Zone plan which will put a special focus on small, independent businesses.
City Councilman Dan Henderson owns a business, Henderson Mechanical, near High Street. He says he looks forward to seeing how the designation will promote growth.
“[I] have several associates, neighboring businesses who are trying to get improvements made, but they just need a little bit of support. With this downtown designation, it’s just going to push them over the edge to get them started,” Henderson said.
Sussex County Habitat for Humanity also plans to restore a set of condemned single-family homes in Seaford, though future plans for the properties have not been determined.
Delaware’s Downtown Development Districts program is modeled off a similar program in Virginia. The difference is that while Virginia’s program supported only commercial entities Delaware will also seek to revamp residential and other properties through incentives. Those incentives include giving investors who make qualified real estate investments grants up to 20 percent of the cost of their investments
The Delaware State Housing Authority will soon release a grant application to access incentives in designated districts. $7 million was allocated for the program through the General Assembly.