$230 million price tag for mixed-use project that converted office space into apartments
The Buccini/Pollin Group, Inc. (BPG) announced Market West, a mixed-use campus across five city blocks in downtown Wilmington comprised of the Nemours, Brandywine, and DuPont buildings and CityCenter and ParkBPG parking garages.
The project converts more office space to apartments in a Wilmington downtown with a high office vacancy rate as companies downsize and move to hybrid work formats.
The Nemours building will be the campus’s flagship and is being rebranded as the Market West building. The Brandywine building will also be renamed 1000 N West.
The $230 million redevelopment signifies the reunification of these five buildings that were all purchased from DuPont Co. over of 19 years, the repositioning of the former three million square foot DuPont headquarters campus into “Delaware’s premiere mixed-use neighborhood and the lifestyle epicenter of the city of Wilmington,” a release stated.
In 1999, the Buccini/Pollin Group acquired from DuPont Co. the Nemours, Brandywine, and CityCenter buildings as its first investment in downtown Wilmington, and later added the DuPont and ParkBPG buildings to its portfolio in 2017. Buccini went on to redevelop much of nearby Market Street and recently opened Crosby Hill, an apartment project on Shipley Street near Market.
BPG has reassembled ownership of all five former DuPonr buildings after previous sales. BPG has expanded the Market West campus to include additional properties such as the I.M. Pei building at 1105 N Market Street, overseeing millions of dollars in renovations and capital improvement projects.
Market West is the only mixed-use development and redevelopment of this scale in Delaware history totaling over 1 million square feet of office space, 553 residential units, 88,500 square feet of retail, and 1,170 public parking spaces.
BPG commenced the first phase of Market West with the conversion of the DuPont building to a mixed-use hotel, apartments, office, retail, and entertainment. The nearly $130 million renovation was completed in 2020. It encompassed the entire one million square foot building to make way for the Chemours Company global headquarters, 101 Dupont Place apartments, DECO Food Hall, Le Cavalier at The Green Room, the 1,200-seat Playhouse on Rodney Square, and retail space.
After its conversion from DuPont headquarters to a multi-tenant office building upon its initial acquisition in 1999, 1000 N West (Brandywine) is wrapping up three years of upgrades to accompany its leasing efforts, including the addition of a ground floor amenity space and upcoming plaza renovation. The release stated that 1000 N West and 1105 N Market will continue to be Market West’s premier commercial office buildings.
At the center of the new Market West campus is the namesake property now undergoing a $100 million redevelopment. The former Nemours building, now known as Market West, currently consists of 450,000 square feet of office space, 16,000 square feet of existing retail, and 85 former extended-stay furnished apartments.
The redevelopment into Market West will reduce the office space to 150,000 square feet and repurpose the building into 355 luxury apartments, expand The Mill co-working space to 75,000 square feet, introduce Wilmington’s next upscale restaurant, and transform the 17,000 square foot outdoor plaza connecting the Market West and 1000 N West buildings.
Branded as The Standard, the residential component will have onsite amenities like the expanding co-working space at The Mill, the boutique gym at Coreten Fitness, the arthouse cinema Theater N, Starbucks, and long-running Café Mezzanotte in addition to new amenities like a private rooftop balcony with river and city views and a resident clubroom for entertaining. The pet-friendly community will also have a dog-washing station, secure package receiving, 24/7 security, and onsite ResideBPG property management and maintenance.
Studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment homes at The Standard will showcase finishes like continuous quartz countertops and backsplashes, herringbone tile bathroom flooring, and two-tone upper and lower kitchen cabinets. Other apartment features include large kitchen islands and peninsulas, spacious floor plans, stainless-steel appliances, keyless access smart technology, in-unit washer and dryers, and large operable windows offering natural light. Additionally, penthouse lofts boast interior spiral staircases separating the living spaces, private balcony access, and kitchen upgrades such as French door refrigerators and built-in wine and beverage fridges.
The Standard will be delivered in phases with the first 92 units available beginning July 1st for move-ins. ResideBPG is currently pre-leasing phase one and scheduling hard hat tours for early June. For more information, please visit residethestandard.com
Market West highlights the industry trend of converting underutilized and vacant office space to mixed-use. Rather than demolish the property, the redevelopment of the Nemours building will r hundreds of residents and visitors to an area formerly occupied between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
“Market West is the culmination of 25 years of acquiring and repurposing the former DuPont worldwide headquarters complex,” said Chris Buccini, co-president of the Buccini/Pollin Group. “While we continue to honor and respect the century-old history of these buildings, we are ecstatic to introduce Delaware’s premiere live-work-play neighborhood. At Market West, a new history will be created in the century to come.”
