Eighty-six people were on hand to learn more about the newly formed Bear-Glasgow Business Association.
Mike Columbus, president, said the goal of the organization is to promote business in the sprawling area covered by the 19702 and 19701 zip codes. The association has a board of directors and is looking to add members.
Even through the meeting was held in the middle of a Friday workday, attendees’ vehicles managed to fill the parking lot at Delaware State Police Troop Two in Glasgow. The association has the support of the State Police who patrol much of the retail and service business area along Route 40 .
Columbus said he has been working for two years on plans for a business organization as a way to build the economy and community. Bear-Glasgow has an estimated 3,000 businesses ranging from large employers like Siemens to home-based businesses.
The effort drew the support of the Small Business Development Center of the University of Delaware, which is expected to hold a meeting in the area in conjunction with the business group this summer. County council members and legislators were also on hand to offer their support.
House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst told those in attendance that legislators stand ready to help build a business-friendly climate in the area.
The Bear-Glasgow grew rapidly in the 1990s, but as residential areas were built out, activity shifted toward the Middletown area and the population surge slowed down. The area extends along Route 40 from the Route 13 split to the Maryland line and south to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
Bear-Glasgow has a population of 110,000, nearly 40,000 greater than the city of Wilmington. The area has a wide range of income levels and housing options. Like many areas of the state, it has no downtown or other defined business area. That lack of identity is compounded by the structure of government in Delaware, which does not have townships or other government subdivisions.
With strip centers often hidden along Route 40 and the hugely popular Christiana Mall nearby, getting the attention of residents residing in the area is not always easy, speakers noted.
Addressing that issue was Chad Lawrence, of the Hockessin Business Association. While a much smaller area than Bear-Glasgow, Hockessin also faces the issue of attracting area residents to its service and retail businesses., he noted.
Lawrence said the Hockessin association has been in existence for a half a dozen years and has made inroads in increasing awareness of the community.
He said the association should not confine its efforts to retailers or service businesses, but should also work to attract home base firms.
Columbus said the group will not be a networking or business leads organization, nor will it attempt to compete with the state and New Castle County chambers of commerce.
However, it is looking at community events, including a jazz festival in the heavily used Glasgow Park, across Route 40 from Troop 2. Also planned is a website for an area that Google declared as the “Digital Capital of Delaware.”
The Bear-Glasgow Business Association has a goal of building membership to 300 in the next few years. Annual dues are $175.
For more information, contact Columbus at (302) 932-7296.
