Creative District Wilmington Announces 7th Street Arts Bridge Park(let) Debut

Wilmington Renaissance Corporation (WRC) and Creative District Wilmington announce the debut of a new park(let) along the 7th Street Arts Bridge. In celebration of National Park(ing) Day, the community can enjoy the unveiling of the Creative District's first park(let) on Friday, September 2 from 5:30pm-8:00pm in a public parking space outside The iNSPIRE Lot located at 215-219 W. 7th Street between Orange and Tatnall Streets in Wilmington's Creative District. The park(let) was commissioned by WRC, designed by Wilmington Placemakers Inc., built by The Challenge Program and sponsored by Wilmington Parking Authority.

"As a conversation starter, 'park(lets)', which transform of a parking spot into a temporary public space, were conceived around creating green spaces in urban areas and reintroducing pedestrian scale amenities," said Laura Semmelroth, Creative District Strategist. "National Park(ing) day is celebrated worldwide, helping cities bring life back to their streets. We are excited to celebrate park(ing) day in Wilmington and hope it leads to more creativity around space."

The 7th Street Arts Bridge (7SAB) is the first phase of public art projects within Wilmington's Creative District. 7SAB is a transformative and unifying project in an area in need of renewal that will connect artists, entrepreneurs and residents to downtown Wilmington. 7SAB will transform this strategic corridor by creating structural, visual, event-driven and spiritual connections between people and places.

The iNSPIRE Lot Series, is held from 5:30pm - 8:00pm in conjunction with Wilmington's First Friday Art Loop. On September 2nd, the event will include an evening of entertainment by The Souldaires, as well as offerings from a local food truck.

Wilmington Placemakers Inc.- Plan, design, execute and manage projects that promote, support and grow community culture, engagement and wellness. Wilmington Placemakers, Inc. owns and operates Artist Ave. Station located at 800 Tatnall Street and Wilmington Green Box, a mobile vending cart selling healthy food options that is placed in various areas in the Creative District.

Challenge Program- Provides vocational training for Delaware's at-risk youth to empower them with the confidence, skills and purpose needed to become productive members of society. Since 1995, the Challenge Program has offered young people the opportunity to learn valuable construction skills, assistance in earning a high school diploma or GED and job placement services.

Wilmington Parking Authority (WPA) - WPA was formed in 1951 to provide off-street parking for the public good. Since its founding, the Authority has developed a number of garages and parking lots throughout downtown Wilmington. At present, the WPA operates six garages and two lots which are open to the public and are available for both monthly and short-term parking.

National Park(ing) Day- An annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into "PARK(ing)" spaces: temporary public places. The project began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in downtown San Francisco. Since 2005, PARK(ing) Day has evolved into a global movement, with organizations and individuals (operating independently of Rebar but following an established set of guidelines) creating new forms of temporary public space in urban contexts around the world.

Wilmington's Creative District is a part of a national wave of creative placemaking initiatives that seek to transform urban areas. The Creative District encompasses the area bounded by Fourth, Ninth, Market and Washington streets and, with the active engagement of public and private partners, will continue the momentum of LOMA and Market Street. The Creative District is focused on creative production and consumption. It's a place where creative entrepreneurs-artists, musicians, designers, tech innovators, makers and manufacturers-and neighborhood residents thrive, and where locally designed goods and original works are made and consumed. This revitalization will engage the community-current and future residents, as well as civic and business leaders-in a wide range of initiatives and programs that include affordable housing, greening and streetscape projects, real estate development, programming and community engagement activities, public art and public performance projects, and centers for creative entrepreneurship.

Creative District Wilmington projects have been generously supported by Bank of America, CityFest, City of Wilmington, Colonial Parking, Connections CSP, Delaware Division of the Arts, Delaware Department of State, Delaware State Housing Authority, Delmarva Power, Downtown Visions, DuPont, FHLB Pittsburgh, Gable Music Ventures, Highmark Delaware, IBEW Local #313, Interfaith Community Housing of Delaware, JPMorgan Chase, Kenny Family Foundation, Longwood Foundation, Lowe's, MSP Equipment Rentals, National Endowment for the Arts, NCALL, NeighborWorks America, TD Bank Foundation, United Way of Delaware, Wilmington Parking Authority and WSFS Bank.

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