Market Street held a press conference Monday to celebrate being in its 47th consecutive year of "renaissance"—a renaissance that, despite decades of promises, millions in public investment, and countless development plans, has still not actually happened and shows no signs of happening anytime soon.
"This is truly an exciting time for Market Street," explained Downtown Visions Executive Director Michael Peterson, standing in front of yet another vacant storefront. "We're on the cusp of a major transformation. Just like we've been for the past forty-seven years. This time it's definitely real, though. Probably. Maybe."
The announcement comes as Market Street—Wilmington's historic main street and current symbol of urban decay—continues its decades-long transformation from thriving commercial corridor to post-apocalyptic wasteland of vacant storefronts, failed businesses, and shuttered banks.
Market Street's decline began in the 1960s and 70s when suburban flight and the construction of I-95 destroyed downtown retail. Since then, the street has been in a perpetual state of "revitalization" that consists mostly of: press releases about development that never materializes, ribbon-cutting ceremonies for businesses that fail within a year, and politicians making promises they have no intention of keeping.
"I've been here for thirty years," explained longtime business owner Patricia Chen, whose storefront is one of approximately six still operating on Market Street's fifteen-block downtown stretch. "They announce a new development plan every three years. They promise millions in investment. They host ceremonies and photo ops. Then nothing happens. The buildings stay vacant. The foot traffic stays nonexistent. But hey, at least we're 'on the verge' of something. We're always on the verge."
The most recent "renaissance plan" involves converting vacant office buildings into residential units—the same plan that has been announced, celebrated, and then quietly abandoned approximately eleven times since 1995. This time, developers promise, it will definitely work, despite all evidence suggesting it will fail exactly like every previous attempt.
"The problem is simple," explained urban planning professor Dr. James Rodriguez. "Market Street died because downtown Wilmington died. And downtown Wilmington died because there's no reason for anyone to be there. The banks empty out at 5:30pm, everyone drives home to the suburbs, and the street becomes a ghost town. You can't revitalize a downtown by converting office buildings into apartments if there's nothing for those apartment residents to do except stare at vacant storefronts and regret their housing choices."
The city has tried everything to revive Market Street: tax incentives that benefit developers but produce no lasting businesses, streetscape improvements that make the street look nicer but don't address the fundamental lack of foot traffic, facade grants that put fresh paint on vacant buildings, and endless festivals and events that bring people downtown for exactly three hours before everyone flees back to the suburbs.
"We've invested over $200 million in Market Street improvements since 1990," noted city economic development director Sarah Morrison. "The street is still mostly vacant. Businesses still fail at alarming rates. Foot traffic is still abysmal. But we've had some really nice ribbon-cutting ceremonies. And the bricks on the sidewalk look great, even though no one walks on them because there's nowhere to go."
The few businesses that survive on Market Street do so despite, not because of, downtown revitalization efforts. They're typically niche operations with cult followings, government contractors serving the banks and legal firms, or restaurants that somehow convinced themselves downtown Wilmington has a lunch crowd large enough to sustain them (it doesn't).
"I survive by keeping expectations low and overhead lower," explained restaurant owner Maria Santos. "Every year they promise Market Street is coming back. Every year more businesses close. I'm still here because I own my building and have no illusions about downtown Wilmington suddenly becoming vibrant. It's not happening. It hasn't happened in fifty years. It's not going to happen in the next fifty."
Perhaps the most honest assessment of Market Street came from a developer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he still has to work with city officials.
"Market Street is dead," he explained. "It died decades ago and no one has the courage to acknowledge it. You can't revive a downtown when the entire city has been designed around suburban living and car commuting. People don't want to live, work, and shop downtown—they want to drive to their suburban jobs, drive to their suburban homes, and drive to their suburban shopping centers. Market Street revival requires fundamentally reimagining how Wilmington works, and no one wants to do that because it would require admitting the past fifty years of suburban development was a mistake."
The latest "renaissance plan" includes all the usual promises: mixed-use development, retail on the first floor, residential above, pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, and the magic words that appear in every failed downtown revitalization: "creating a vibrant, walkable community." These same promises have been made in every plan since 1978. None of them worked. This one probably won't either.
"The problem is that downtown Wilmington's economy is based on people who don't want to be there," noted economist Dr. David Park. "The banks maintain token presences for tax purposes. The lawyers work downtown because that's where the courts are. Everyone else has left. You can't create a vibrant downtown when the underlying economic model is 'arrive at 9am, work in a soulless office, leave at 5pm, never return until tomorrow.' That's not a community. That's a commuter holding pen."
As of press time, city officials were planning yet another Market Street revitalization event, this one featuring speeches about the street's bright future, promises of imminent development, and absolutely zero acknowledgment that they've been making these same promises for forty-seven years while the street continues to decline.
When asked when Market Street's renaissance might actually materialize, Peterson seemed offended by the question. "We're in the middle of it right now," he insisted, gesturing to a street where half the storefronts are vacant and the only foot traffic consists of bank employees walking to their cars. "Can't you feel the energy? The vibrancy? The inevitable transformation? Just give it another forty-seven years. We're right on the cusp."