VIEWPOINT: Making the next Wilmington, a better Wilmington
Updated: Sep 16
Private capital investment is doing the “heavy lifting” to rewrite the narrative for what Wilmington will look like in the future. Within the next 10 years, local developers are envisioning a more walkable, and diverse city, where residents have access to retail, culture, the arts, and commercial centers all within a short distance from where Wilmington residents live.
While major developments have had a place in Delaware for decades, commercial development is taking on new roles both big and small in today’s AI world. For Wilmington’s economic recovery, it needs to focus on being far more welcoming and inclusive than it has ever been before. Yes, we know Wilmington’s three C’s (chickens, credit cards and chemicals) have always driven the state’s narrative, but perhaps we need a reboot?
Wilmington, given its proximity to New York City and Washington, D.C., is destined to become a global city, where there’s culture, technology, and innovation. Most importantly — the city is home to President Joe Biden, which offers unlimited possibilities.
But unfortunately, a lot of Wilmington’s historic sites, and neighborhoods which were originally structured for walkability, have now fallen into great disrepair and witnessed the decline of population over time. Fortunately, Wilmington still has enormous potential to restore this, creating opportunities for reshaping its focus and some of its original splendor. Perhaps the metropolitan region, not just the city of Wilmington, is an important aspect when discussing how to remake Wilmington a world-class city. In the view of many, it calls for more ‘Regional involvement’.
Just imagine. Delaware has approximately 1 million residents, with about 650,000 in New Castle County and about 350,000 in the two lower counties. In reference to city size, Wilmington is about two-thirds of what it once was, with its population peaking around 1968, just before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Arguably, if we focus on planning, the Wilmington metro area has about six distinct population centers in New Castle County, including Middletown, Odessa, Townsend, Delaware City, Hockessin and Newark, which would be about 450,000. Today, at only 71,000 residents, one cannot look at Wilmington without looking at the mostly, special areas around the city’s limits.
This has great relevance and importance to solution-finding in a strategic approach for rebuilding downtown Wilmington. Just imagine, even DuPont, once the economic vehicle of Delaware, is now headquartered directly outside of city limits. CSC, Delaware’s largest privately held company with more than $2 billion annual revenue, also resides in the unincorporated area of metro-Wilmington.
Fifty years ago, Wilmington was at its peak. The city was flourishing with economic investment, nearly 100,000 residents claimed Wilmington as their home.
