Office Building to Undergo $50M Multifamily Conversion

WILMINGTON, DE-The 680,000-sf, 22-story Delaware Trust Building is to be reborn as an apartment building five years after an arsonist-set fire ravaged the structure, which has remained vacant ever since. The $50-million project is expected to produce the Residences at Rodney Square, a 270-unit luxury building of market rate apartments. Developer Buccini/Pollin Group Inc. is behind the endeavor and has the support of the city mayor James M. Baker, who is encouraging the City Council’s approval of approximately $4 million worth of incentives.

“This project is a huge boost to our administration’s goal of creating and supporting market-rate housing in the downtown area and of creating a vibrant ’24/7′ residential Downtown Wilmington community,” Baker said at a joint news conference with Buccini announcing the project on Thursday. “Beyond our strong support and encouragement for this type of pioneering and daring project, it is important that the City offer tangible financial assistance to make it happen sooner rather than later. As more and more people become part of everyday life in Downtown Wilmington, the positive benefits for our city’s retail and entertainment outlets will increase dramatically.”