Mayor Mike Purzycki announced an effort to revitalize the troubled West Center City area of Wilmington.
“Beginning today, the people of WCC will have a team of new and existing allies and partners standing side-by-side with them to improve the lives of citizens and strengthen the entire neighborhood,” said Purzycki. “Too many of us want to live in the past and talk about the construction of Interstate-95 and the social unrest of 50 years ago. I don’t. It is time for us to look forward and not backward. The failed initiatives of the past are behind us. We will not try to revisit them. I believe that a well-executed program that is supported by the community and multiple partners will change lives for the better and transform this neighborhood.”
West Center City (WCC) is defined as the area bounded by Adams Street to Tatnall Street and 4th Street to 10th Street. WCC is situated near downtown and is adjacent to the Quaker Hill, Trinity Vicinity and Hilltop neighborhoods.
West Center city has been one of the city’s hotspots in a long-running wave of gun-related violence. Its location near downtown has led to worries that the violence could spill over into that area.
Purzycki said the city will assign additional resources to WCC such as police officers, L&I inspectors, Public Works sanitation employees and Parks and Recreation staff.
He said the city’s efforts will be supplemented by the State of Delaware’s Department of Health and Social Services, the Attorney General’s Office and the Christina School District.
In addition, Purzycki said the city has begun to coordinate these efforts with public and non-profit property owners in the neighborhood such as Interfaith Community Housing of Delaware, Wilmington Housing Authority, Wilmington Housing Partnership, Wilmington Renaissance Corporation (WRC), Habitat for Humanity, Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank and a number of private entities with substantial holdings in the area.
Mayor Purzycki said each owner has been asked to work with the city to stabilize, rehabilitate or demolish properties to reduce blight.
“We know this will be a monumental task, but it will also be a testament to our resolve to bring as many resources together as possible to reduce crime, blight and poverty, and to produce cleaner streets, better housing, improved health standards, increased living standards, and a new sense of neighborhood pride,” Mayor Purzycki. “This is not the first community-based process aimed at bringing about important changes in this part of the city. I tip my hat to all of those who worked extremely hard to produce and follow through on the West Center City Strategic Neighborhood Plan coordinated by Interfaith Community Housing of Delaware and the WRC’s Creative District Strategic Plan. Our efforts will compliment and support yours.”
Purzycki also announced ]that the city will spend $1.3 million to improve the city’s only community center—the William ‘Hicks’ Anderson Community Center (WHACC).
Improvements include reroofing and repainting the facility, repairing leaking pipes and installing a new water treatment system in the swimming pool and installing new lockers and replacing the HVAC systems in the men’s and women’s locker rooms. Upgrades also include new appliances and a new HVAC system in the center’s kitchen, as well as a new HVAC system in the gymnasium and a new gym floor
He said improvement efforts will not be guided by arbitrary timelines or deadlines. Instead, work will be driven by a desire to address the needs of the community in a timely and consistent way.
