yesterday.

"AAA will lease 120,000 sf of a 150,000-sf building to be built with AAA expansion in mind," Riverfront Development Corp. executive director Michael S. Purzycki tells GlobeSt.com. New Castle, DE-based real estate firm the Commonwealth Group is developing the project, which will have an address on West Street. While the terms of AAA Mid-Atlantic's lease with the Commonwealth Group have not been disclosed, according to the NAI Real Estate Planning Guide, class A office space in the Downtown area leases for about $18.50 to $28 per sf.

Come 2005, about 300 AAA Mid-Atlantic employees will occupy the new structure, which will sit at the bend in the Christina River on the site of the eight-acre Wilmington Public Works Yard. "In its search for a new headquarters, AAA Mid-Atlantic was much sought after and could have gone anywhere, but the company chose Wilmington and that says so much about our city," Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker says in a statement.

Speaking to GlobeSt.com, AAA Mid-Atlantic's Colleen Headley adds that, "the location, incentives and tax structure all weighed in to provide us with the best option." In its efforts to lure the company, Delaware committed to providing a $6-million performance-based grant to help the project reach fruition. The City of Wilmington will pony up about $1 million in incentives to help the project along, as well.