Happy, soggy Friday,
After a discussion on the apartment boom on the Riverfront and in downtown at yesterday morning’s Bisnow North Delaware Update, one attendee pondered the phenomenon that is happening in spite of job losses at DuPont and elsewhere.
“Who are these people?” he asked panelists.
Robert Buccini of Buccini/Pollin Group, the leading developer of apartments in the city, noted that Wilmington is part of a large region with a diverse economy and a large population of millennials, GenXers and empty nesters.
With the right mix of amenities and apartments, people with no ties to our sluggish economy have arrived.
Fueling the trend are employees who can work from home, either full time or a couple of days a week as well as the deployment of high-speed Internet.
Meanwhile, we are seeing some growth in the city. The Mill, a co-working center in one of Buccini/Pollin’s downtown buildings, is now the work home for upwards of 400 people
Megan McGlinchey, executive director of the Riverfront Development Corp., reported that activity in the residential sector remains strong as development moves across the Christina River.
Buccini also took note of something I have noticed over the years, a tendency among many of us to live in the past.
“We focus too much on DuPont,” he said. Buccini/Pollin has been repurposing DuPont’s buildings for the last couple of decades. It now has the former headquarters building, which is undergoing a major upgrade as the home of Chemours. A food hall is also planned at the city landmark.
Buccini also sees a smaller DuPont having some pep in its step, with the company spending hundreds of millions of dollars with a smattering of job openings.
Panel moderator and Potter, Anderson and Corroon partner Joy Barrist also noted that some of the firm’s young associates, who used to live in Philadelphia, now reside in Wilmington.
The oft-criticized Wilmington wage tax is only a fraction of the figure in Philadelphia.
Enjoy the weekend. This newsletter returns on Monday. – Doug Rainey publisher
