Gov. John Carney announced the latest cities and towns receiving a Downtown Development Districts (DDD) designation.
The program builds on the state’s efforts to redevelop Delaware’s commercial business districts and drive private investment in towns and cities.
Carney officially designated four new Downtown Development Districts – in Delaware City, Middletown, New Castle and Clayton. Investors who make qualified improvements to residential, commercial or industrial properties in those districts now may qualify for state and local development incentives, including a rebate of up to 20 percent of eligible costs upon completion of the project.
“The Downtown Development Districts program is already bringing significant private investment to the eight currently designated cities and towns, and I am thrilled to welcome these four new designations to the program,” said Carney. “This expansion continues our commitment to revitalizing our downtown business districts and surrounding neighborhoods.”
Established in May 2014, the DDD program was created to spur private capital investment in commercial business districts and other neighborhoods; stimulate job growth and improve the commercial vitality of our cities and towns.
The program has led to private investment in the eight Delaware downtowns previously designated. Those districts are: Dover, Georgetown, Harrington, Laurel, Milford, Seaford, Smyrna and Wilmington. To date, $31.6 million in rebates through the program has leveraged $597 million in private investment in those designated downtown districts.
Governor Carney made the announcement in downtown Delaware City on Monday morning, joined by local officials representing the new districts.
“We are excited about the transformation that will occur in downtown Delaware City thanks to this program. We want our residents to be able to live, work and enjoy themselves in our downtown, and this designation will go a long way to helping us achieve that,” said Delaware City Mayor Paul H. Johnson, Sr.
The DDD program is administered by the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA). In October, DSHA will launch a new funding round for large projects in each of Delaware’s Downtown Development Districts. Nearly $8 million in funding will be available for projects statewide. Applications to fund small projects are accepted on a rolling basis.
