DOVER, Del.- The Downtown Dover Partnership has five projects under way in the city. It is looking to revitalize North Street, shops on Loockerman Street and the old Bayard Hotel.
The hotel will soon be home to 48 affordable apartments and the bottom level will have restaurants and shops. The DDP also bought a building on Loockerman in 2010 and work is under way there as well. It is hoped that the building will bring in new businesses.
"We're putting a new front façade on it and a new rear façade and improving interior so that it is really rentable space," said DDP Executive Director Bill Neaton. "We have folks interested in renting that space."
The partnership is also going to redo a lot and add extra parking.
"We have plans to make it a plaza," Neaton said. "It's going to be a walkthrough plaza parking on the back end, and a green area with potential for building on it."
People in Dover like Lora Garner said downtown is ready for a revamp.
"It would be nice because I can remember a time when it was really busy around here all the time," she said. "There were a lot more stores. There was always foot traffic and you had a lot more choices and right now they are limited."
