News | Downtown Wilmington

Idea Challenge 2017

Downtown Wilmington is the place for great ideas!

Here's what our friends at the Technology Forum of Delaware are putting together:

Tech Forum presents our 4th Annual Idea Challenge - this year as part of The Open Data Challenge - a partnership with the State of Delaware's Government Information Center andOpen Data Delaware. The Open Data Challenge will help to build tangible, sustainable solutions for community issues using innovation and data from the State's new Open Data Portal.
We have an exciting new theme this year - "Access to Hope Through Innovation". Teams, such as Eugene Young's Network Delaware and The Food Bank of Delaware, will compete to demonstrate that innovation, collaboration and passion can create solutions to important issues such as access to housing, food, education, healthcare and other resources.
Winning ideas generated at the 2017 Idea Challenge will move forward to Open Data Delaware's National Day of Civic Hacking in June where teams will have the opportunity to win cash prizes to implement their projects. 
Join us for this high energy, entertaining and motivating event! 
Register as:
A member of the audience to evaluate and judge the concepts presented by the teams. Audience members should arrive at 5:30 PM for networking and be ready at 6:30 for the presentations.
OR
A participant on a team that will work from 3:00 – 6:30 PM to develop a solution to the Challenge Problem, and present to the audience starting at 6:30 PM. Some of the leading non-profit organizations in the state are sponsoring teams and need participation by digital marketers, technologists, and creative thinkers.
 When: Wednesday, March 15, 2017
 Time: Teams: 3:00 - 8:00 PM
 Audience: 5:30 - 8:00 PM
 Where: 1313 Innovation
 1313 North Market Street
 Wilmington, DE 19801
Event registration is $25 for TechForum Members and $40 for Future Members. Team Members attend for Free!
Register online today!
Walk-ins are welcome, but will be charged an additional $5 fee at the door.

 

I hope to see you there!

Marty

Wilmo Wednesday's new home!

Every Wednesday night Gable Music Ventures gathers an incredible group of talented people together to create an evening of entertainment like no other. From spoken word to jazz to pop music to rock to hip hop to comedy to magicians to jugglers - and everything in between - Wilmo Wednesday offers a rich variety of entertainment for everyone.

This week, Wilmo Wednesday has a new home - come out to Ernest & Scott Taproom at 902 N. Market Street at 7:00 Wednesday to experience great entertainment. There's no cover charge, and our friends at Ernest & Scott have a wonderful food and drink selection.

There's wonderful things happening in Downtown Wilmington!

Marty

Explore our history!

Our friends at the Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation are bringing history to life in Wilmington!

This Saturday, come out for a FREE interactive, family friendly Underground Railroad workshop in the historic Wilmington Friends Meeting House. Enjoy PIZZA while educator Darleen Amobi innovatively teaches about the struggles and creativity of Freedom Seekers such as Henry "Box" Brown. Courtesy of the DE Humanties Forum, prepare to be regaled by the first person account of Private James Elbert: African-American Delawarean, solider in the Union Army and hero of Polktown.

I hope you will take advantage of this great opportunity!

Marty

Inspiring

This is too good not to share.

This was recently posted on Facebook:

I try to find beauty in every thing every day but once in a while you come across something so beautiful and touching that you have to share it with everyone! Talk about the true meaning of showing love and kindness - Our Downtown Wilmington Safety Ambassador holding the hand of a Downtown resident walking with her down the mall! This kind and wonderful gesture just proves that there is kindness no matter what is said about our city or even in our country! 

I have said it before, and I will say it again - I am proud to work with a great team here at Downtown Visions and I am proud of the men and women who care about our community, together, we are showing the world what a great city looks like.

Marty

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Anyone who knows the work Downtown Visions does is acquainted with the multiple hats worn by Will Minster - and he's just added another hat to his collection!

Will is Director of Business Development for Downtown Visions and full-time Program Manager for Main Street Wilmington, a division of Downtown Visions. Now he has joined Patterson-Woods Commercial Properties/CORFAC International as a licensed real estate agent. With this dual role, he will be adding professional skills and resources needed to concentrate on small business recruitment and investment in the Downtown Business District.

We harnessed Will’s decades of experience as both a business owner and champion for downtown, and our Main Street initiatives have been incredibly successful. Since 2011, the Main Street Program has awarded 47 grants for building renovations, 50 grants for new signs or awnings and the removal of 26 roll down security gates. Minster has worked one-on-one with business leaders in the Central Business District to facilitate collaboration and participation in the mission of the downtown revitalization. 

Downtown Wilmington has changed dramatically over the last decade with new apartments, businesses, and co-working spaces. We are especially pleased to see innovative spaces like The Mill Space, 1313 Innovation, Start It Up Delaware and Factory Berlin. The tech and start up communities are bringing incredible energy to our downtown, as are the new residents. With this increase in activity, the focus has been placed on the retail mix and amenities that are needed to support the growing community.   

  • Site location for new businesses
  • Retail recruitment and retention
  • Market Analysis
  • Business consultation, connecting businesses to resources
  • Business Transition Strategies
  • Engaging the broader real estate community
  • Property Development

Exciting things are continuing to happen here in Downtown Wilmington!

Marty

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