With $1 million in state taxpayer money, developer Buccini/Pollin Group will build a 125,820-square-foot warehouse outside Wilmington, Del., city limits, which had previously received county approval. The money, which was approved recently by the Council on Development Finance, comes from a state strategic fund designed to encourage large projects that will bring jobs and economic activity to the state.
The surrounding area, which BPG senior vice president, Michael Hare, referred to as "challenged," is home to auto repair, graffiti-covered buildings and an exotic dance club called Cheeks, reports the Delaware News Journal. BPG had previously been involved in building a nearby Taco Bell and Royal Farms, Hare said, as part of efforts to improve the area.
Total development costs for the warehouse project would be $25 million, said Hare, and BPG had agreed to a voluntary environmental remediation before construction would begin. BPG has not yet found an end user for the warehouse project, said Hare. He told the council the developer was also open to "value-added" manufacturing businesses in the space.
The Delaware News Journal reported that construction would employ 80 to 90 people, Hare said. And employers at the site would bring on a minimum of 50 jobs, he projected.