DEMOGRAPHIC SNAPSHOT

About 14% of the city’s total population, nearly 10,000 people, live in the Northeast Wilmington community within designated census tracts 6.01, 6.02, and 30.02. The study area population has many similarities to Wilmington as a whole. In terms of age distribution, residents are slightly more likely to be younger (25% are under the age of 18, compared to 23% citywide). The racial / ethnic makeup of the Northeast community has remained largely unchanged since 2000, with more African American residents living in the northeast (85% of residents) on average than citywide (57%), while Hispanic residents are underrepresented (4%) compared to citywide (10%). Poverty rates and unemployment, however, are significantly higher than in other areas of city.

Since 2000, overall population has declined across Northeast Wilmington neighborhoods apart from the areas south and east of Brown-Burton Winchester Park and Pine Street Park. Despite declines in total population, the number of households in the Riverside neighborhood has remained relatively unchanged from 2000 to 2014-2018, indicating that the number of “non-family” households increased, while “family” households declined. Although the majority (61%) of households in the neighborhood remain family households, between 2000 and 2014-18, the percentage of family households declined -7.3% while the percentage of non-family households increased. Single-parent households are more present in Northeast Wilmington compared to the city, county, and state averages.

Within Northeast Wilmington, the Riverside community (around census tract 30.02 and the location of WHA’s Riverside public housing) is one of Delaware’s most impoverished communities. Median household income in Census Tract 30.02 is $25,326, and for those in public housing (roughly 20% of the Riverside population) median income is $9,277; 35% of adults do not have a high school diploma; 68% of working age adults are unemployed or not participating in the labor force; 74% of households are single female led; and 64% of Riverside children live below the poverty line.

The uneven growth and decline, and changes in household size present opportunities to consider new housing types that meet the needs of current and future residents, as well as opportunities for capitalizing on growing areas to help reverse decline and stabilize the community.

Northeast Wilmington is made of several established neighborhoods, including Riverside, Eastlake, 11th Street Bridge, Brandywine Village, Price’s Run, and Eastlawn. The Brandywine Creek and rail corridor separate the area from Downtown Wilmington and have long acted as barriers making it more difficult to walk, bike, or take transit efficiently to downtown. Northeast Boulevard and Market Street serve as the main connectors across the Brandywine Creek. While these conditions have acted as impediments in the past, they also provide opportunities to reconnect the community to the water, which is mostly inaccessible given brownfields, industrial uses, and limited public access.

The Northeast neighborhood of Price’s Run has an industrial legacy along the waterfront. Land that was originally marshland was filled in with mills and manufacturing businesses over time, capitalizing on the Brandywine’s resources. The Delaware Granite and Mining Company created the quarry pond that exists today adjacent to the H. Fletcher Brown Boys & Girls Club.

Auto and metal salvage industries later replaced some of the early industrial uses. Active, established industrial uses such as Franklin Fibre – Lamitex Corporation and Masley Enterprises exist today, but they are adjacent to blighted and vacant properties impacting the overall vibrancy and economic viability of the northeast community.

“Tucked away in the northeast corner of the city, Riverside is one of Wilmington’s oldest neighborhoods. Once a vibrant, working-class community, the area experienced decades of disinvestment. Today, residents are eager to define a new future for their community.”

- Purpose Built Community Profile

While the waterfront area remains mostly vacant and underutilized, the Northeast community includes a mix of commercial, retail, and industrial uses along major corridors, interspersed with residential neighborhoods east of Vandever Avenue in the 11th Street Bridge area. Today, about 44% of land within the study area is zoned for residential uses and made up of majority single-family attached homes (about 78% of housing units), with 22% of housing units in multi-family or duplex buildings. The residential vacancy rate (8.3% in 2019), considerably higher than in other areas of the city, is highest in the northwest area near Market Street and the Brandywine Creek. Housing value and market strength vary throughout the neighborhood, ranging from stable middle market to distressed.

The project boundary is composed of approximately 1 square mile or 3,219 parcels. NE Wilmington is a community planned for mixed-use with residential, commercial, waterfront, and parks - investment is needed to reduce vacancy and improve property conditions.

Commercial Industrial Infrastructure

Institutional/Public uses

Low-medium density residential

Medium-high density residential

Mixed use

Park/Open space

Parking

Vacant land

The Northeast Corridor’s AMTRAK railroad line forms the planning area’s southeastern boundary. This railroad track corridor’s origins can be traced to 1837. Between 1901 and 1907, major construction was undertaken by the Pennsylvania Railroad which included elevation of the tracks on a viaduct throughout much of Wilmington and the relocation of the railroad repair shops from the downtown area to the Todd’s Lane vicinity.