The City of Milford was designated a Downtown Development District (DDD) by the State of Delaware in August 2016 for a ten-year term. The city is eligible for five-year extension which must be filed by February 1, 2026. At a recent council meeting, Rob Pierce, City Planner, provided council with details on the application and the benefits of the program.
“Council was briefed at a workshop on May 14 on the review status of the program,” Pierce said. “We also highlighted the city’s opportunity to identify new key priority projects and make a one-time boundary adjustment.”
Pierce explained that key priority projects were identified by the state and used as catalysts for other redevelopment activity. The key projects are those that are expected to provide significant positive impacts to the district.
“The original 2016 plan had two key priority projects,” Pierce said. “One was the Riverwalk Villas which was a 48-unit apartment complex and the RiverPlace mixed-use project on South Washington Street which has been replaced with more recreational opportunities. Since those two projects have changed or no longer exists, we have changed the priority projects.”
New key priority projects included in the application were Riverwalk Villas, which is now a 27-unit townhome project; DE OZ Property Management, an 11-unit apartment project in the former fire house; Carlisle Lane LLC, a 39-townhome project on Truitt Avenue; conversion of the NE Front Street parking lot into commercial or mixed-use; a vacant lot on South Walnut Street where Warren Furniture once stood and the Growmark FS peninsula property.
In addition to updates to the key priority projects, the application changes the boundaries of the DDD. Some of the properties removed are those that have already received DDD benefits while others were city-owned property that are ineligible. Others include newly constructed buildings that would likely not apply for DDD funding.
Since the city was named a DDD, projects have received nearly $2 million in rebates, attracting over $14 million in private investment. According to a report released in 2020, Milford’s level of private investment in the downtown area was second only to Wilmington. In addition, the DDD has helped Milford rank third in the state for new non-residential square footage built with only Wilmington and Newark ahead. The DDD has also helped preserve several historic buildings downtown, including the Watson-Carlisle buildings on Front Street as well as the Pikus Building on Walnut Street.
There was a public hearing held for the application and no one spoke for or against the renewal of the DDD project.
