Library to anchor other improvements along Del. 9

An area more familiar with approaching government to fight neighboring industrial stench and other neglect is now being targeted by New Castle County for revitalization.

With a $21 million library and 12-acre "innovation campus" currently in design, the county is turning its sights on the surrounding New Castle Avenue corridor with initiatives to make the area more pedestrian-friendly and foster development tailored to the community's needs. The effort is called the Route 9 Innovation District and will be officially launched at the Rose Hill Community Center on Wednesday.

"Using the library innovation center and campus as a catalyst, New Castle County is presented with a remarkable opportunity to replan and redesign and re-envision this area," said Sophia Hanson, general manager of the County's Department of Community Services.

Initially, the effort will take the form of tangible improvements like a farmers market and greater pedestrian access to parks off New Castle Avenue. Eventually there will be other initiatives, like tax breaks seeking to influence certain types of development the community deems ideal, Hanson said.

Councilman Jea Street recalled a time when the neighborhoods like Dunleith were the places to be for African Americans. Dunleith was the first housing development dedicated to black communities in the 1950s.

"In the '50s and '60s, if you lived in Dunleith, you were hot stuff," Street said. "Black and living in the suburbs, it was the life of Riley."

Back then, the area had greater access to shops, grocers, recreation and other services within walking distance, Street said.

"Other than the community center and the PAL center, this area really has nothing [now]," Street said.

Street said the community's core and pride began to fade after desegregation removed schools from the area in the '70s.

"We have been lacking over the years for [general services] nearby. Look at the Route 9 corridor, there is no bank in sight," said Lee Jarmon, a resident of Overview Gardens and president of the Overview Gardens and Garfield Park Civic Association. "That would be invaluable to the community ... We need places that are easily accessible for residents in this area to get to."

Addressing the lack of local food options will be among the initiatives introduced Wednesday. The area is deemed a so-called "food desert" because inexpensive, healthy food is not available.

The county received a $99,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to host a farmer's market in the area. The market will meet this spring at the Garfield Park PAL Center and move to the new library's campus once construction there is complete.

Another problem identified by residents is the lack of pedestrian features.

Hanson said part of Wednesday's kickoff includes a partnership with Nemours Health & Prevention Services to improve pedestrian connections between three local parks: Suratte, Rose Hill, and Oakmont.

"The community is mostly land locked," said Sandra Smithers, president of the Dunleith Community Association and lifetime resident of the neighborhood. "We have had several people in the community who have been hit crossing Route 9."

Hanson said the county hopes to work with the Department of Transportation to introduce pedestrian crossing areas on New Castle Avenue to improve access to the library and future commercial center.

The county's plans also involve aesthetic improvements. On Wednesday, the county will display preliminary designs for covered bus stops throughout the corridor that also serve as public art installations.

"Anytime you change the environment and make improvements in the aesthetics in the area, there is less potential for deterioration, there is less potential for crime to happen," Jarmon said. "There is a greater chance that people will take pride in their neighborhoods and when you take pride you want to help maintain it."

The hope is that these improvements, along with the library, will attract private developers, Hanson said.

The area's proximity to industry neighboring the port has long been a source of frustration for residents, from watching trucks rumble down their streets to living with the lingering stench, Street said.

County Executive Tom Gordon said potential expansions to port operations combined with job training initiatives at the future library will benefit the area.

"This area is in transition. It can go south and go bad or it has the opportunity, with the port, where I myself would want to live down there," Gordon said.

The area is identified in the county's recently drafted economic development plan as an empowerment zone, which allows the county to develop tax benefits and other incentives to encourage development, said Marcus Henry, the county's economic development and policy director.

The idea is to create "almost like a village center where what you need you can get to instead of having to drive to the city or to Bear to go to the grocery center or bank," said Carrie Casey, manager of the county's community development and housing division.

Henry said more concrete details will be available over the next several months and the plans are subject to the approval of council.

The hope is changes to the commercial face of New Castle Avenue can solidify improvements made to the surrounding neighborhoods' housing stock and attract younger people into those neighborhoods, which were some of the hardest hit by predatory lenders during the housing crash.

"More than 70 percent of the housing was built before 1960 in that area. You really have aging housing and you have a higher vacancy rate. They say about 8.5 percent, but there are pockets in Dunleith that are above 10 percent," Casey said.

Through some $13 million in federal stimulus money, the county has purchased blighted properties, renovated and sold them at market rate. About 30 nearby homes have been renovated with more in the works. The county also manages programs used to provide down payment assistance to help people get into once vacant homes.

The county also works with Interfaith Community Housing of Delaware on efforts in a section of the corridor not eligible for the stimulus money, Casey said noting the county has recently applied for more money for these programs.

"When you put these houses on the market, they sell quickly," Casey said. "I think the momentum is there. You have a foundation which is the home ownership rates. You have a lot of really positive things happening there. I really think you have the potential for a real renaissance."

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Route 9 Innovation District Kickoff

WHEN: 11 a.m. Wednesday

WHERE: Rose Hill Community Center, 19 Lambson Lane, New Castle

COST: Free

MORE INFO: 302-395-5613