Board approves denser Market Street conversion, requires 20 workforce units for 15 years

The Wilmington Board of Adjustment on Oct. 16 approved variances allowing the adaptive reuse of a 76‑room hotel at 4118 Market Street into a 76‑unit multifamily development and granted reduced open‑space relief. The board conditioned the density variance on a requirement that 20 units be set aside as workforce housing for 15 years.

Planning staff explained the site is roughly 1.26 acres in the MD‑17 district and that the applicant proposes to retain the existing buildings while changing use from transient lodging to long‑term rentals. Staff corrected an early calculation and said the applicant’s plan equates to about 60 units per acre under the proposed conversion; the applicant seeks relief above the density bonus threshold that allows higher density when at least 10% of units are designated workforce housing.

Applicant representative Nicholas Silvanch told the board the conversion would not require city funding and would deliver ‘‘naturally affordable’’ studio units near existing services. “We just want to be able to provide some affordable housing immediately in the area on Market Street,” Silvanch said. The developer agreed to the 10% set‑aside described in code and to additional workforce units as a condition of approval; board and staff settled on a round number of 20 workforce units for 15 years.

Board members debated whether the open‑space relief should instead go to the design adjustment committee, but several members said the practical constraints of an existing motel structure and the project’s workforce‑housing benefit supported relief through the Board of Adjustment. The density motion passed with one member opposed; the open‑space variance passed unanimously.