SEAFORD, Del. -- Community Bank Delaware is the newest business to move into and open in the Nylon Capital Center, which is currently being revitalized in the heart of Seaford.
Monday's opening was a full circle moment for Community Bank Delaware President and Seaford native, WM. Jack Riddle. He opened a former Mellon Bank branch in the same location at the Nylon Capital Shopping Center nearly 40 years ago.
"I remember the days when that Nylon Capital Center was the economic center of Western Sussex, before all the shopping centers," says Riddle. "It had the Woolworths, and it had all the merchants."
Riddle still has a photo of his team from the Mellon Branch. Little did he know, he'd be opening a branch of Community Bank Delaware at the same location decades later.
"When this thing gets all done, it's going to be back to what it was," says Riddle. "It's going to be a major force in the commerce for that area. So we're really excited to be a part of it."
Seaford's Director of Economic Development, Trisha Newcomer, says she's glad to see the area return to life.
"No matter how much we tried and what good was happening here, it's sort of that cloudy vision," says Newcomer. "Now that stuff is actually taking place and happening, it's exciting to see."
The rest of the Nylon Capital Center is still under construction as crews work to tear down old buildings and clean up debris. But Riddle says the center will look much different in the coming months.
Newcomer says the center is still on track to be completed in 2026. She says BrightBloom, an autism behavioral therapy center, is expected to move in and open next.