WILMINGTON, DE—While the city and surrounding suburbs saw positive absorption in 2014, the city's vacancy rate hovers at about 20%, considerably higher than national downtown vacancy rates that are currently in the low teens.
Peter Davisson, a partner with Jackson Cross Partners, said that the Wilmington region posted positive absorption of approximately 80,000 square feet of office space in 2014, according to the News Journal.
“Other parts of the region and county are improving. Unfortunately, the Wilmington (central business district) isn't doing it at the pace we'd like,” Davisson said at the firm's annual real estate forecast breakfast held at the Hotel du Pont. “People are thinking positively... Unfortunately, the numbers here in the marketplace are not supporting that positive thinking yet.”
One major issue facing Wilmington is a need to address its high crime rate and safety concerns raised in a Newsweek Magazine article published earlier this month that characterized Wilmington as “Murder Town USA.”
In November, The News Journal reported Wilmington's violent crime rate was third nationwide in 2013 among cities of similar size and sixth among 750 cities with more than 50,000 people.
“Existing and prospective tenants are concerned about safety and security in the city of Wilmington,” Davisson said. “Wilmington will have to improve its image, safety and security.” See story in the News Journal.
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