Wilmington Riverfront
Co-owners Brian and Robbie Frederick prepared to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Joseph Frederick & Sons. Thank you for your many years of business and friendship.
The dramatic changes at the Riverfront over the past 10+ years have been driven by the Riverfront Development Corporation (RDC). The RDC was established by Delaware's General Assembly in June 1995 to carry out a 25-year, 1 billion vision to revitalize 500 acres along the Christina and Brandywine Rivers. In January 1998, construction began on the Chase Center, which was established as a world-class exhibit center and banquet facility hosting exhibits such as "Nicholas and Alexandra: The Last Imperial Family of Tzarist Russia" and "Discovering Dinosaurs: The Great Exhibition."
Also in the late 1990s, with the establishment of the Shipyard Shops outlet center, the RDC contributed to the first major retail project to open in the City of Wilmington in more than 40 years. The Riverfront Market, which features vendors selling meat, seafood, flowers, and gourmet foods, has become a hub of activity for the north end of the Riverfront. It is located in the two-story annex of the former Kent Building, which was built in 1900 and served as a Berger Brother's furniture warehouse in the early 1970s.
In 1999, Wilmington officially dedicated the Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park at the corner of Water and South Streets, near the Amtrak Train Station. The park is named for abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Thomas Garrett. At Garrett's home on Shipley Street in Wilmington, Del., more than 2,700 slaves received financial assistance, directions, and moral encouragement during their flight from bondage to freedom.
In 2000, ING Bank opened on the Riverfront with approximately 131 employees. Now up to about 900 employees, the company's headquarters is split between two brick buildings on the Riverfront, plus a glass building on Delaware Avenue. In November 2006, officials announced that the company is in the market for yet another building to accommodate 500 new employees to be hired in 2007.
In 2001, Juniper Bank (now named Barclays) renovated the Gates Building on the Riverfront to serve as its corporate headquarters. In 2004, Barclays elected to lease a second building on the Riverfront. The Riverfront locations will provide Barclays with capacity for up to 1,150 employees.
In 2005, AAA's Mid-Atlantic regional arm relocated its headquarters, including about 350 jobs, to Wilmington's Riverfront. AAA Mid-Atlantic received a $6-million state performance grant (tied to job creation), plus $1 million in incentives from the City of Wilmington.
In 2006, Wilmington's skyline continued to change with construction underway on the WSFS Bank Center on Delaware Avenue and the Renaissance Center on Fourth Street.
New facilities directly on the Riverfront are the Residences at Christina Landing and the $500 million, 11-acre development of Justison Landing (the largest development project in the City of Wilmington since World War II). Click for more information about the Wilmington Riverfront.