A project bringing three higher education institutions to downtown Wilmington is moving forward.
The Bridge Project expands the Community Education Building’s existing educational ecosystem as it transforms downtown office space.
"One, it's the revitalization of 3/4 of a million square feet of vacant office space into educational use, and associated residential needs,” said Thère du Pont is the Chairman of the Community Education Building Board. “Equally it is a nationally unique birth cradle to career pipeline, literally starting with students at birth and our Youth Development Center in the early learning seats. All the way through a series of K-12 schools."
The Bridge will house the University of Delaware’s Associate in Arts Program and Delaware State University’s College of Public Health at the former Bracebridge IV building.
Meanwhile, the former Bracebridge II will be the new home for Widener University’s Delaware Law School which is moving to the legal district in downtown Wilmington within walking distance of state, federal and bankruptcy courts.
It also puts the school’s no-cost legal clinics right in Wilmington’s business district.
"This move did not become about a building. It was about people and serving this community, and everything that we did from that moment was calibrated to being downtown to serve the people of this community. And so I am thankful today to be a part of that vision," said Delaware Law Dean Todd Clark.
The expanded campus will see more than 2,000 students, faculty and staff starting in the 2027-2028 academic year.
The entire project brings law, nursing, public health, liberal arts, and associate degree programs to one centralized hub in the city.
The Bridge Project cost is $71.5 million with both public and private funding with the expected investment into the city totaling $250 million which includes funding from the Longwood Foundation.
