Wilmington’s downtown district makes room for more housing

The look of Wilmington’s downtown district continues to change along its Market Street corridor with new residential housing on the way.

The Buccini/Pollin Group, a Wilmington-based developer, announced a redevelopment project that includes three new properties that will be converted into apartments with ground level retail space. The additional apartments add to the 114 existing apartments from the 400 to 800 Market Street blocks.

“We are excited to continue the growth of downtown apartment living and additional neighborhood amenities,” said Robert Buccini, Co-President of the Buccini/Pollin Group.

The first building is located at 829 Market Street and will house seven open floor plan studios and one bedroom apartments. The second property which sits on the corner of 7th and Market Streets will include 15 one-bedroom apartments. It will also undergo an extensive exterior renovation to bring back some historical detailing that was once seen when the old structure housed Snellenburg’s Department Store. The newly constructed structure is directly across the street from Market Street’s first Starbucks store that’s set to open in October.

“We are seeing a trend with each wave of new residential activity, a corresponding wave in retail activity. The Starbucks is only the beginning of the latest retail wave,” Buccini said.

Finally, there’s a third property acquired by BPG and that’s located at 200 W. 9th Street. It’s a seven story existing building at the corner of 9th and Orange Streets and just several feet away from another BPG project currently under construction to bring 198 apartments to the city. However, the blueprint for the third property will be slightly different and offer office space as well as 30 one-bedroom apartments.

According to developers, it’s only a matter of time before hundreds more people will be calling Market Street home.