The Wilmington Renaissance Corporation unveiled its plans to turn a portion of downtown Wilmington into a creative district Tuesday at the organization's annual meeting.
The $50 million project aims to turn a 25-block district of Quaker Hill between Market, Washington, 4th, and 9th streets into a thriving arts-based community through various improvements via a public-private partnership.?
One of the major goals of the plan is to increase neighborhood density through real estate development and construction on vacant land. Managing Director of the Wilmington Renaissance Corporation Carrie Gray says that about 30 percent of the property in the neighborhood is currently vacant which is double the city's vacancy rate. Gray adds that this allows for the possibility of new development without displacing current residents.??
“There is a real opportunity for us to increase the number of residents in this neighborhood,” said Gray.
??Part of the real estate development strategy is to provide incentives for creative professionals. That group would be offered discounted rates on buying or renting a property, as much as 20 percent below current market rates. Gray hopes to begin construction on 7 to 10 artist live/work opportunities within the next year.
By making the area an appealing place for artists to live and work, WRC believes it can help Wilmington’s creative community grow and become more cohesive. Gray says the proposed creative district already has the foundation to help accomplish that goal.
“If you look at a cultural assets map, you see that the district is ringed on two sides by a significant number of cultural assets and cultural resources,” said Gray. “Those could be anything from major institutions like the Grand, the Christina Cultural Arts Center, and the Queen Theater to smaller efforts like the poetry slam, the art loop that is pretty populated along Market Street happening one time a month on the First Friday.
In addition to the district’s location, the plan calls for the development of shared production spaces, creatives offices, smaller performance venues, galleries, and retail locations in many of the districts vacant lots and abandon buildings.
??Rounding out the plan are various infrastructure improvements with a unique artistic voice, like street scaping, lighting, and green spaces.
??“Things that help change the look and feel of the place and really infuse that creative energy and ideas into all of those strategies to create that more interesting and exciting sense of place,” said Gray.
While the most tangible investments will be the new construction and repurposing of abandoned property, building a creative community through the implementation of programs and events is just as important to the plan's overall vision. ??The WRC have already started conversations with various area arts organizations like the Barrel of Makers, New Wilmington Art Association, and the Creative Vision Factory to see how they can help infuse a creative energy into the neighborhood. Some ideas that have already been generated are projects like temporary murals on abandoned buildings and artistic intersection treatments that Gray believes will be beneficial to the neighborhood's community, which has a crime rate higher than the city's average.?
“You can get the young kids and the people that live in the neighborhood engaged in an artistic project that helps build community pride,” said Gray.?
The WRC’s fundraising effort for the district will start this summer, looking primarily to private investors but also taking advantage of whatever public funding programs are available like the affordable housing programs through the Delaware State Housing Authority and small business development grants through the Office of Economic Development.
Laura Scanlon, Director of States and Regions for the National Endowment of the Arts, says that the creative district project has the potential to make the area a place where people want to visit and live in as well as provide a host of economic possibilities. Scanlon, a former director of the Delaware Division of the Arts, adds that the project’s biggest challenge may be beautifying the area currently filled with abandoned buildings and vacant lots.
??“But it sounds like they’ve got the will and a great plan to make that happen,” says Scanlon. “I think it’s very promising.”
Even though the WRC has been developing this project since last spring after being inspired by an artist relocation project in Kentucky, Gray says that now the real work begins. However, she is inspired by the amount of the support the project has garnered from it’s infancy as a “what if?” idea to it’s unveiling.??
“We’re really excited about the number and the variety and depth of the people who are interested in being a part of it,” said Gray. “Since we’ve gotten some more public exposure for the project, our phones have been ringing off the hook and our e-mail has been blowing up. It’s really exciting to see that level of energy from people.”
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.