Page 8 - Wilmington - It's Time

Wilmington has been on the rise with recent revitalization—and everyone is taking notice.
Empty nesters and millennials alike are now calling downtown Wilmington home. Retailers and restaurateurs have opened up shop on Market Street and are enjoying the benefits of a bustling commercial corridor visited by residents, downtown workforce and tourists alike.
Wilmington is reemerging with many new living options, while the older, historic buildings are receiving a facelift and new life. As of spring 2019, there was nearly $400 million of investment in the pipeline allotted to downtown restoration.
Wilmington Renaissance Corporation has been a driver of the city’s evolution. WRC works with government, investors and local citizens to stimulate the city’s economy, attract new residents, bring businesses and develop programs
that enrich the city’s culture.
In 2013, as part of a national wave of creative placemaking, which transforms urban areas throughout the country, WRC developed the Creative District strategy, focusing on the neighborhood just west of the Market Street corridor and adjacent to the downtown business district. Since its implementation, this activity has continued the momentum
of LOMA (Lower Market) and Market Street, pushing interest, investment and activity farther west toward the neighborhoods of Quaker Hill and West Center City.
The Creative District work is wide- ranging, including the redevelopment and renovation of historic, previously vacant buildings that are now home to creatives. Formerly blighted lots have been converted to green spaces, and are now energized and host creative weekly programming that engages nearby neighbors and county residents. The district is lit up with public art,
created by local artists alongside
the community and reflective of its values. NextFab, a maker space for entrepreneurs and artists alike, hums with activity at the corner of 5th and Tatnall. All this adds to up to opportunity for businesses, individuals and families seeking a life in the cultural and business heart of a city with a closely-knit neighborhood experience.
VACANT TO VIBRANT
Seeing through the lens of creative placemaking is the ability to see opportunity in places otherwise considered barren. This lens, when applied to vacancy in the Creative District, resulted in turning blight into vibrancy—thus the Vacant to Vibrant project was born. This project has reimagined and transformed three
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W8 | www.todaymediainc.com | JUNE 2019
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION
A CREATIVE APPROACH
Arts and culture drive revitalization of downtown
The annual Ladybug Festival attracts 10,000 people to downtown each summer. Photo by Joe Del Tufo