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September, 1999
JAMES H. SILLS, JR.
Mayor, City of Wilmington
When Jim Sills first addressed the Committee
of 100 in 1993, he had just become Mayor of a City facing
an uncertain future. Wilmington had an $11 million budget
deficit, the City was losing jobs, and companies were downsizing.
After several years of difficult decisions, the Mayor led
the City to budget surpluses. Partnering with Wilmington 2000,
now the Wilmington Renaissance Corporation, Downtown Visions
was established, thousands of jobs were brought into the City,
the College of Art and Design was born, and the revitalization
of the historic southern end of Market Street was launched.
Partnering with DelDOT and WILMAPCO, the
City has over 60 transportation projects newly completed,
under construction, under design, or in the planning stages.
Partnering with Wilmington Renaissance Corporation, the Riverfront
Development Corporation, DelDOT, WILMAPCO, and downtown businesses,
the City has completed and submitted to the federal government,
the Wilmington Transit Connector study (known popularly as
the Trolley Study).
Partnering with the Riverfront Development
Corporation, the City has seen its Christina waterfront blossom
into a major area attraction with even more exciting development
on the way. In a recently-announced land swap with the RDC,
the City has moved closer to its goal of creating an arena
that will provide not only facilities for local athletic groups,
but also, an arena for entertainment opportunities within
the City.
There is new life and great excitement in
the City. The new Justice Center is under construction and
will add to the vitality which students, attending the seven
colleges and universities, have already brought to that area
of the Downtown. Deep Blue and the Wild Child Café
are only two of the new restaurants which have opened in the
City and several more have been announced. Major residential
developments are in the works, including the Berger Building
on the waterfront, the restoration of the historic 200 block
of Market Street, and the Nemours Building. And the Grand
Opera, which has set new records for the number and diversity
of its programs, is expanding to provide even more.
All of this, and more, has happened on Jim
Sill's watch. But the economic balance remains fragile. Some
jobs have already been lost. Jim will share his vision for
the City and his plans for the future, and how they will impact
the economic health of Wilmington and the region.
Beverley Baxter
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