The things that cannot be again
Development takes things in a direction people sometimes can't contemplate.
The recent big news in my little corner of the world is that the state of Delaware and local government is spending taxpayer money on the redevelopment of a local shopping center that’s fallen on hard times and disrepair, beginning with $5.1 million to purchase the property. (The developer is kicking in an additional $500,000 to make the total as reported $5.6 million.) Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m betting the state didn’t spend a dime on the property when the center’s first owner bought an old farm to build it initially. They fixed up the road out front (a state highway) to accommodate the increase in traffic and eventually put up a couple traffic signals but that’s about it.
I’m going to get to the privatizing profit while socializing risk part in a bit, but first I want to caution the people of Seaford, particularly the old-timers who have romantic memories of a thriving Nylon Capital Shopping Center: prepare to be disappointed. It’s not going to be a retail center because the traffic and population base isn’t there to support it. The place (and its highest and best use as a retail center) died a much slower death than Dupont did, but deceased it has been as the major retail development activity around Seaford recentered on Sussex Highway (U.S. 13.) About the only major retail outlet whose sole location is on the west side of town is the Rite Aid in front of the Nylon Capital center. (It took over the former Eckards location when the two druggists merged, leaving a still-abandoned building across Atlanta Road.)
The initial A&P grocery store which began the shopping center opened in 1956, followed a short time later by a Woolworth’s and a batch of (apparently more beloved with the passage of time) little stores and other amenities. I used to frequent the NCSC on a weekly basis because the now-closed Seaford Lanes was in the back of the main building, accessed off the side road. (That became my main bowling house when the first place I bowled at locally was renovated into a warehouse. I talked about that over 5,300 posts ago; in fact, I think it was post number 2 on monoblogue.)
Anyway, seeing that the main buildings are over 60 years old, the line about property condition assessment is just something to soothe the blow - the combination of age and lack of repair is probably going to be the shopping center’s death knell. (They’re old but not really architecturally significant, particularly as they have been renovated a few times over the years.) Given the developer’s attitude that shopping centers are rapidly becoming relics of the past, demolition is the most likely outcome.
Since Dollar Tree just put a batch of money into renovating one of the newer buildings on the north side of the lot to create a second Seaford location, they may be spared for awhile but I suspect the small mom-and-pop shops will be gentrified out of existence as the developer eyes “spaces that are built for humans, not for cars.” (Unfortunately, much of his target market will need a car to get there.) As it stands right now, the three main proposed uses for the site are a Deltech facility (perhaps like a smaller satellite version of their Georgetown campus, focused on workforce training), a health care facility (my guess is a expanded or relocated La Red health center that’s already in Seaford and serves the local immigrant community), and Seaford’s version of The Mill, a business incubator space serving everyone “from solopreneurs to established businesses.”
Assuming I’m anywhere close to correct on the tenant mix, the parcel will soon be occupied by several governmental or quasi-governmental tenants, who will benefit the property owner with their lease payments. (This to go along with whatever The Mill charges its micro-businesses.) Even if it’s a smashing success, though, I wonder why the state of Delaware and city of Seaford had to get involved if it was such a great plan. Someone else can see just which politicians these guys donate to, but there’s a part of me that wonders who gets stuck with the bill if this turns out to be a white elephant. Unfortunately, the state of Delaware doesn’t have a great track record for investment and job creation, with failures like Fisker Automotive and Bloom Energy.
I’ll grant this isn’t as risky and involves far fewer taxpayer dollars as those extreme examples but I’m not totally convinced that what seems to be working in the urban area of Wilmington is going to succeed in rural Sussex County. It may have to be more scalable. On the other hand, it will be a boon to have a Deltech campus closer than Georgetown for those living along the U.S. 13 corridor. But the business incubator will have to be the main driver of job creation, and the jury’s still out on how successful it will be. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised, and the state’s investment will actually pay off for once.
We all have to move along with the times. The powers that be in Seaford and western Sussex County had been pining for Nylon Capital to even come close to its former success since the turn of the century; heck, they were hoping for a miracle as Dupont was locking their doors - but it was not to be. If getting the state involved was the last resort, for the sake of our local residents I hope the last resort was better than nothing.