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Ground 'Broken' at Brownfield Site for New Mixed-income Housing

U.S. Sen. Thomas Carper (DE), Lt. Gov. John Carney, Wilmington Mayor James Baker and a host of affordable housing and community revitalization advocates officially set the stage October 17 for development of a 71-unit, mixed-income neighborhood that epitomizes the changing face of the Downtown Wilmington skyline.

At a groundbreaking ceremony at 30th and Spruce streets on the city's East Side, the group accepted a $500,000 affordable housing grant from Citicorp Trust Bank, FSB, to help finance Speakman Place, a $14 million mixed-income townhome project that will stand on the site of the former Speakman Company manufacturing plant.

"Speakman Place represents a wonderful collaboration of public, private and nonprofit partners who are working together to bring much-needed housing stock to a dormant manufacturing site," said Sen. Carper. "It will increase the rate of homeownership in this city, extend opportunities to low- and moderate-income families and spur additional Downtown revitalization. It is a model of how things ought to be done in other municipalities both inside and outside our state."

The $500,000 grant, arranged through FHLBank Pittsburgh, is targeted to 18 affordale housing units in Phase I of the four-phase development. Besides Citicorp Trust Bank, funders include Citizens Bank, the City of Wilmington, Delaware State Housing Authority, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and JP Morgan Chase.

"The new Wilmington that is rising from the old has come about because of the continual interest and commitment of many, many people who believe in the city's viability as a strong center of urban life and culture," said Mayor Baker. "The city is proud of its role in the development of Speakman Place from an industrial and once thriving city business site to one of Wilmington's newest thriving neighborhoods. Block by block and neighborhood by neighborhood, we are changing Wilmington dramatically and strengthening it for the future."

Of the 71 units, 36 will be sold to families earning less than 80 percent of the area median income. Each unit will boast a spacious interior with wall-to-wall carpeting, wood trim and fully equipped kitchens with EnergyStar® appliances as well as extensive landscaping, a garage and a private rear yard. Homebuyers may also upgrade and customize homes prior to completion. The site design will showcase a panoramic view of the Wilmington skyline and Delaware Memorial Bridge.

Development of Speakman Place is being sponsored by Cornerstone West Community Development Corporation in conjunction with Ingerman Group, a Cherry Hill, NJ developer. Cornerstone West's sister organization, West End Neighborhood House, is starting to take applications for ownership and is working with eight area financial institutions to provide financial assistance and below-market mortgage rates. The first buyers are expected to take occupancy next summer.

The Speakman Company, an internationally known plumbing fittings manufacturer known for its shower heads, makes its headquarters near New Castle, DE. It operated the 30th Street factory for 96 years before moving to New Castle in 2002.