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Fort DuPont redevelopment group asks for $7.7 million to finish campus repairs, housing and amenities
Summary
The Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation told the Bond Bill Committee it has stabilized campus operations, created $34 million in taxable property and is requesting $7.677 million in state capital to complete maintenance, fund housing reuse and match federal grants for cultural amenities.
The Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation asked the Bond Bill Committee on March 26 for $7.677 million to complete infrastructure work, support adaptive reuse for senior housing and advance park and cultural amenities on the former Army post in Delaware City.
John McMahon, chair of the corporation’s board, described multi‑year work that has restored historic properties and returned vacant parcels to productive, taxable use. “We now have...a new way of doing business,” he told the committee, citing a new board, an executive director and a land‑use master plan developed with public input.
Why it matters: Fort DuPont sits adjacent to Delaware City and county services and the project’s success affects local housing, taxable value and recreational access. The redevelopment authority said its work has stabilized 70 residential homes and produced roughly $34 million in taxable property for New Castle County.
Request details and progress The corporation presented three capital requests: $3.3 million for maintenance and infrastructure (including a $375,000 completion request for a canal‑bank project that already has $1.6 million in federal funds), $3.3 million to support adaptive reuse of the large Governor Bacon Hospital building for senior housing plus funding for a design competition for the 15‑acre Southfields site, and $1.077 million to match a federal grant for chapel rehabilitation and to produce design drawings and campus amenity work for the theater, pedestrian and bicycle ring, and recreational improvements.
The board said it has restored 11 historic buildings, stabilized 13 more, assembled a friends group to raise private funds and secured a letter of intent to restore historic buildings alongside new duplex housing. The corporation described a near‑term plan to leverage state match dollars to attract private and federal funding for additional restoration and reuse.
What the committee heard Several members praised the project, urged colleagues to visit the campus and noted the redevelopment’s potential to strengthen downtown Delaware City and protect open space. The corporation emphasized it is advancing projects in partnership with federal and local funders and is operating with public meetings and outreach.
Ending note The corporation asked the committee to support the three line items to preserve historic buildings, finish critical infrastructure and create new housing and public amenities that the group said will increase local tax base and make the campus viable for long‑term public and private uses.
