RAD in wilmington senior citizens and a fire station share a home

Built in 1893, the fire station originally called the Water Witch Steam Fire Engine Co. No. 5 was the last of a line of historic, Victorian-era fire stations in Wilmington. It was located on a narrow, tree-lined residential block well-suited for an afternoon stroll than an emergency, and like the street, the fire station’s garages were built for far smaller trucks and engines than those used today. The fire station needed a new home.

Fire Station #5 was not the only thing that needed a home — affordable housing is in short supply in Wilmington. The partnership between the housing authority and the city created neighborhood buy-in for new assisted housing, by also making room for a state-of-the-art, 10,000-square-foot firehouse to replace the old landmark. This allowed the development of housing for a community for seniors who could take full advantage of a dynamic neighborhood within easy walking distance. And finally, underground parking was added to relieve pressure from streets and neighboring retail properties, and the new construction incorporated green practices into demolition, construction, and the building itself.

After construction was completed, WHA turned to RAD to create consistent, dedicated income to maintain the building for generations to come. RAD has been used successfully by public housing administrations across the country to enable them to access financing to make long-overdue repairs at their properties. In the case of the newly built Lincoln Towers, RAD allowed WHA to think about the long-term future needs of the property and make sure they were ready to address them.

Though the fire station benefits the entire community, the beautiful $25 million building’s primary beneficiaries are its own residents. The senior-aged occupants of Lincoln Towers uniformly applaud the building’s amenities, but they heap even more praise on what one of them calls “location, location, location”: the pleasure, and the dignity, of being able to spend their senior years in one of the nicest and most dynamic neighborhoods in Wilmington.

maintenance, maintenance, maintenance

Rising proudly between Trolley Square’s busy shopping district, the historic 40 Acres neighborhood, and the 80 acres of Conaty Park, Lincoln Towers is impeccably maintained. The nine-story brick tower sits above two garage doors, ornamented with subtle design cues that reflect Trolley Square’s architectural heritage, exuding a feeling of permanence, quality, and integration into the surrounding community.

In discussing the value of RAD to that building, Andy Johnson, the WHA’s Director of Development and Capital Projects, points out the challenge in balancing the cost to properly maintain the building along with the need to keep rents at a level affordable to residents, many of whom are on fixed incomes.

“That's what we’re there for,” he says. “Don't get me wrong. I know. We are nonprofit. It's not about money with us, but we’ve got to make things work, too.” In a development financed like Lincoln Towers, he says, “you're going to use your RAD money to actually run your building.” High-quality housing doesn’t stay that way without costly maintenance. “I mean, concrete? Listen, I spend about $3-400,000 on concrete every year. Every year. Because you fix this this year. Next year that pops up. The 100-year-old tree is popping up concrete. So that’s ongoing. A roof in one of these high-rise buildings costs around $300,000 or more. So right now, I'm coating all high-rise roofs to last another ten years.”

When a property converts through RAD, it receives subsidy through a long-term Section 8 contract — a guaranteed level of funding that is more predictable and stable than what WHA previously received, allowing Johnson to more easily plan for future needs at the property.

One of William Kidd’s friends is Earl Roles, Jr., who moved to Lincoln Towers with his wife, Joyce, in 2017. “It was beautiful,” he says when he first saw the building. “When we came here, I told the manager I was having problems and needed some place to stay. And she had that apartment, and she put me in right away. And to this day, I thank her for that because we didn't have any place to stay. And we've been there ever since.”

Roles serves as Chaplain on Lincoln Towers Resident Council, and cherishes the community at Lincoln Towers. “The people here are very, very nice. I didn't meet anybody here that was detrimental to this place. Everybody was beautiful, especially when my wife passed away, they were extraordinary, a lot of them came to the memorial service. William, he came, he said ‘I wouldn’t have missed that, Earl, for nothing.’ And he was right there.”

Linda Sobieski is a retired professional in the arts, theater, and custom interiors. When her business closed, she immediately thought of Lincoln Towers. “This is the best zip code in Wilmington, Delaware," she says. "And people here should realize how lucky they are to be on this piece of property, because you can’t afford to rent a studio in this neighborhood ... This is the social center. Plus anything we need, we can walk to it. We've got the horticultural center, the art museum. We have parks everywhere. We've got it all going on here. If you're bored, are you waiting for fun to come to you? You may die waiting to start making your own fun."

As Andy Johnson tells it, the Wilmington Housing Authority is just getting started with RAD conversions of its properties and looking at other ways RAD could allow them to be more innovative. “Our Riverside project is RAD, you know,” he says, referring to a multimillion-dollar neighborhood now under construction, featuring hundreds of subsidized housing units as well as mixed-income and homeownership opportunities. “Our high rises. We’re working on Compton [Tower] across the street [from WHA's office], Herlihy [Apartments] is connected to this building — we want to RAD that. Baynard Apartments, we want to RAD that, and Crestview Apartments down on Market Street, we want to RAD that also.”

The WHA’s creative thinking about its properties is having a real impact on lives across Wilmington, and its partnership with RAD will help make sure that impact lasts for generations, for significant numbers of its citizens.

Above, Linda Sobieski has the last word on a senior community sharing property with a fire station. Below, the Bridle Path to Lincoln Towers, the Horticultural Center, and Station #5, viewed from historic Lovering Avenue Bridge.