Street on Wilmington’s East Side—the latest in a series of projects to stabilize and strengthen city neighborhoods. Both 104 and 106 E. 22nd St. (at the corner of 22nd and Lamotte streets) had stood vacant for many years, during which time they had become a haven for illegal activities. In 2007, the properties were acquired by the nonprofit GBVR, which received $93,000 in financial assistance from the Wilmington Housing Partnership to rehabilitate the properties. “Neighborhoods cannot be saved without active support from the entire community,” Mayor Baker said about the project. “Fortunately, in the case of Brandywine Village, we have many talented, resourceful, and hard-working partner organizations that are determined to strengthen this historic area of the city.” The two-story properties were almost completely rebuilt by the Challenge Program, the nonprofit organization that provides a construction-training program for out-of-school youth ages 18-21. WSFS Bank provided the lending for the construction, the Delaware Community Foundation provided additional funding, and Habitat for Humanity provided technical support.
Vinoteca 902 opens in former Exchange space
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arket Street welcomes another restaurant as Vinoteca 902 recently opened at 902, in the former location of The Exchange. The restaurant marks Chef Julio Lazzarini’s second downtown location (he’s also the owner and chef of Orillas on the 400 block of Market). Vinoteca offers what Lazzarini calls “Medilatino” cuisine, a style of cooking that blends the Caribbean with the Mediterranean for a combination of bold flavors. The restaurant also offers a wide selection of wines.
Degnan Co. opens computer-repair shop
egnan Co., the web-design, programming, and ISP web-hosting business, has opened a full-service computer-repair shop at 103 W. Seventh St. Patrons can drop off their computers in the morning; technicians work to diagnose and repair the machines in time to be picked up that day. The shop will also be home to a computer-history gallery, where visitors can revisit the innovations of years past: the MITS Altair, PDP 8, IMSAI 8080, IBM, PC, TRS 80, Apple II, and Commodore 64 among them.
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downtownwilmington.com
Wilmington Renaissance Corporation
WRC News T
he Wilmington Renaissance Corporation (WRC) and its partners will hold the third annual Downtown Fall Fest, supported by AstraZeneca, on Saturday, Nov. 6 from noon to 4 p.m. on Market Street between Fifth and Ninth streets. The event and activities are free. “The Downtown Fall Fest is a great family-friendly event downtown,” says Carrie W. Gray, WRC’s managing director. “The day will include favorite activities from previous years, as well as new additions to keep the event exciting.” Those activities include a hayride on Market Street from Ramsey Farms, moon bounces, a trackless train, face painting, a hay maze, the Grand’s karaoke contest, bungee-jumping, and much more. New this year is the AZ Challenge. Children of various ages will be challenged to complete five out of 12 healthy activities throughout the event. Each child to complete the activities and hand in a punch card will receive a prize. The schools or nonprofit organizations that have the most participants complete the AZ Challenge will receive $1,000. Schools or organizations that wish to participate should preregister at downtownwilmington.com. There will be a kick-off for the AZ Challenge in front of the Grand at 12:30 p.m. the day of the event. Individuals are able to participate throughout the day and are not required to pre-register. “The challenge is really a great way to encourage children to live healthy, active lifestyles while having fun,” Gray says. “The added bonus is that they each win a prize and could walk away with $1,000 for their school or organization.” Also new to the event is “Old Time,” featuring photos at the Grand, model trains and railroad activities at the Delaware Historical Society, and a pet-portrait workshop in front of the Delaware College of Art and Design. For more, call 425-5500 or visit downtownwilmington.com.
WRC’s Favorites
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very month, we’ll feature a few of the staff ’s favorite things happening in the city. Our favorites for November include (in no particular order!): •Vinoteca 902 recently opened at 902 Market St. •Five individuals and organizations will be honored at the CityLife Awards on Nov. 30. (Read more about the winners in this month’s cover story.) •Collars ’n’ Cuffs on the 700 block of Market Street now offers tuxedo rentals. •Downtown Fall Fest returns to Market Street on Saturday, Nov. 6.
DowntownWilmington.com in
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