Packet Economic Development Committee

Economic Development Committee Agenda November 14, 2023 Convenes promptly at 4:00 PM; Adjourns no later than 5:30pm City Hall Council Chambers, 15 Loockerman Plaza, Dover, Delaware VIRTUAL MEETING NOTICE This meeting will be held in the City Hall Council Chambers with electronic access via Zoom. Public participation information is as follows: Dial: 1-301-715-8592 Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/98650449210?pwd=Y3I5by8xMjVUMzRDc2t2cXBXbnRlUT09 Meeting ID: 986 5044 9210 Password: DOVER Public comments are welcomed on any item and will be permitted at the appropriate time. When possible, please notify the Mayor's Office (302-760-4920 or email mayorsoffice@dover.de.us) should you wish to be recognized. 1. Welcome 2. Adoption of Agenda 3. Adoption of Minutes - Economic Development Meeting of May 9, 2023 4. LGPI VA LLC – Redevelopment of the Old Dover Post Office presentation by Michael Glick (Vice President of Lighthouse Construction, Inc) 5. Downtown Dover Partnership – Status on Grant Money and Economic Development Projects presentation by Diane Laird (Director of Downtown Dover Partnership) 6. Mayor's Announcements 7. Next Meeting Date: January 9, 2024 8. Adjournment THE AGENDA ITEMS AS LISTED MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED IN SEQUENCE. PURSUANT TO 29 DEL. C. §10004(e)(2), THIS AGENDA IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE TO INCLUDE THE ADDITION OR THE DELETION OF ITEMS, INCLUDING EXECUTIVE SESSIONS, WHICH ARISE AT THE TIME OF THE MEETING

Economic Development Committee Meeting Minutes May 9, 2023 – 4:00pm The Economic Development Committee Meeting was held in person and by video conference on May 9, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. with Mayor Robin R. Christiansen presiding. Committee Members present in person or via video were Mayor Robin R. Christiansen, Councilman David Anderson, City Manager Dave Hugg, City Planner Mary Ellen Gray, and Kim Adams. The guest present was June E. Clarke. Absent was Clay Hammond and Diane Laird. The public present in person or via video was Dr. Dina Vendetti of Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce and Tina Bradbury of the DDP. WELCOME The meeting will be called to order at this time with a quorum. Councilman Anderson moved to approve the agenda. Seconded by Dave Hugg. Agenda stand adopted as presented. Adoption of the Minutes from the Economic Development Committee meeting on February 14, 2023. Moved by Mary Ellen Gray. Seconded by Councilman Anderson. Motion is carried and the minutes have been adopted. Delaware State University – Hospitality and Tourism Management (June E. Clarke/Associate Professor) Good afternoon Mr. Mayor and thank you so much for having me. I am delighted and I am privileged to be here. I met Mayor Christiansen a couple weeks ago on the property of Delaware State University. He was there for an event, and we got to chatting a little bit. And I realized he was as passionate as I am about hospitality and tourism. And so, I told him you know I would love to come to his office one day to talk with him, and he agreed. I called his office, made the appointment. And then a couple of weeks after he said wait, I am having my meeting you can come and present it to the group. So, I said my mom would say, the more the merrier. So, here I am and thank you very much for the opportunity. My name is June Clark, and I am the Director for the Hospitality and Tourism Management program at Delaware State University. The program is 25 - 26 years old. And it started out at the college of business then years later it was transferred to the college of business. I came here in 2012, newly I would say probably half graduated from the Oklahoma State University. I was what you would call an ABD (All but Dissertation). And so, as doing my first year here, I defended my dissertation. And then I had a lot of corrections to do, and that’s the painful part. And after my corrections I got to go ahead and be ready to be called a doctor. So, here I am. And while at Delaware State University my goal since I came here is to see the program grow, develop, and for us to be able to train more students and contribute more to the growth and development of the tourism industry here in

Economic Development Meeting of May 9, 2023 PAGE 2 Delaware. However, when you’re supervised by a boss you have got to follow their instruction. So, a couple a years later I was privileged to be promoted to the director of the program, and since then my goal has been to get the program out into the community, go with the program and find ways to contribute more to the economy of Dover. So, hence I am here today to talk a little bit about the Hospitality and Tourism Management program. June E. Clarke reviewed the presentation entitled “Delaware State University – Hospitality and Tourism Management Presentation” Exhibit #1. Mayor Christiansen stated thank you for that presentation. I have one question. Would your current school of hospitality offer certificates to people who are currently in the industry? June Clarke responded, if they need. So, we do not have a certificate program or stock over here that we’re like ok. What you do as a school is you’re open to what people need. Say for example I am a certified hospitality trainer, I am certified hospitality educator, and I am services certified. Say somebody approaches me with a group and said I need to get them certified, ok I call up the educational institute that provides the resources, and we go from there. Councilman Anderson stated thank you Dr. Clarke for taking time and explaining the industry to us. I wanted to ask what areas are most in need of workforce development? June Clarke responded, the entire industry, every area including accountants, marketing, events, line staff. So, from management to all the way down to line staff. Cause during Covid, a lot of people lost their jobs. Some left, and after nowhere getting back in stream. Some never returned, some died. And most of the older folks retired. The industry used to be carried by a lot of older individuals. I am not sure if you noticed it. A lot of older individuals were carrying the industry. And with Covid a lot of them retired. So, now it’s like oops. And nobody was looking at it from that perspective. And so Covid now showed us that you guys really are not prepared. We are not putting enough skills out there to cover these areas. Councilman Anderson stated I have a couple more questions in that regards. What sector do you think is the fastest growing right now in hospitality? June Clarke responded with food and beverage. It’s easy to walk in a restaurant to serve food and get a tip. Councilman Anderson stated so they have been starting to come back from Covid. June Clarke stated yes, and events too and travel. Especially black travel. They are just like you know folks had a bucket list aside, and then after Covid said, you know what I better go do this before something happens that I don’t get to travel. So, black travel is coming back like crazy. People are traveling left, right, and center. Councilman Anderson asked, where do you think we go from here when it comes to the skills gap, and all that may be hampering growth. Where do we go from here? June Clarke responded that she believes we can partner to ensure that we develop our own skills. Because a lot of students who attend Delaware State University are out of state. We do have some students in state. And when they finish guess what, they leave. And even some in state students too are like oh it is better on the other side. They leave. There is nothing in Delaware. I say there is a lot here, but you’re not seeing it. But they are like we call it the bright lights and city life, so they run to New York, they run to D.C. And more standard skills you’re equipping people with, but it is draining out. And so, it is not only Dover that is struggling, but the entire world is also

Economic Development Meeting of May 9, 2023 PAGE 3 struggling. Where skills and qualifications are constant. But more so for Dover, I think we need to invest more in skills, and we also need to provide avenues for jobs. So, when we develop these skills, not everyone does not want to leave. They have somewhere to work after you have equipped them with the skills. Did I answer your question? Councilman Anderson stated, you did. It makes me think of other questions, but maybe we can talk sometime. I yield to Mr. Mayor. Mayor stated thank you Councilman Anderson. Mr. Hugg or Ms. Gray, do you have any questions? Mr. Hugg and Ms. Gray answered no. Ms. Kim online, do you have any questions? Ms. Kim answered no. Dr. Vendetti, do you have any questions? Dr. Vendetti said I do. Mayor Christiansen said please come to the podium. And give your name and address for the record please, and your title. Dr. Vendetti stated Dina Vendetti, Central Delaware Central Chambers Commerce, 435 N. DuPont Highway, here in the capital of the first state Dover, Delaware. The Mayor stated and a member of the Kent County Tourism Board. Ms. Vendetti stated yes, and many others. My question is we touched on this a little bit about students that come here then go back to where they came from. Right? And so, it seems to me is what needs to happen is something to bridge that gap so that we can keep students here. And so, I wondered if you are as part of this program are their internships that you do or any kind of job placement stuff that you do with them? Ms. June Clarke responded, yes, they have 2 internships. So, internship 1 is 240 hours that the students must complete, and internship 2 is 360 hours. And, prior to Covid I struggled to find quality internships and opportunities for my students. And so, if you walk into the college of business now at Delaware, we started a café. And we call it the I-Cafe. And so, just before Covid we were to open the café. Covid hit, and we had to run. And so, we just opened like 2 semesters ago. And the purpose behind that is to provide internships for the students, because it was difficult for us to find internships right here in Dover. Then because the program is small. The large companies I showed you there wouldn’t visit us because they were like it is not worth our while. So, we would have to travel to them for them to even see us. And so, a lot of times the students would say “oh we don’t have the money, we’re broke”. And all that stuff, so it was a constant battle, a constant fight. But since Covid, oh my phone has been ringing off the hook! And everybody wants to partner. I am like wow. So, it is changing a little. But a lot of times if the internship is out of town. It is hard for students to go back and forth. How can they run from class to an internship that is an hour way. So, it is hard for them unless it is during summertime when they go back home to their own communities, they can really access. All my students that may have done internships this summer are out of town. And sometimes, I am going to be honest, is a fight with Bally’s for me. Sometimes it is a fight to get students in there for internship. So, yeah those are the struggles that we face. Dina Vendetti responded that she is a big believer in collaborating. Anytime organizations can collaborate with each other I think that can produce some good stuff. And as you were talking, I was thinking of the Delaware Office of Work Base Learning. I was just at an event with them last week. Where they are partnering with groups and their idea is to have students have an opportunity to work and learn on a job. And at the end of that you know if they are good at it, then the company maybe will hire them. Now they are trained the way the company wants them to do. So, I am thinking there could be some opportunities, maybe you are already doing all that.

Economic Development Meeting of May 9, 2023 PAGE 4 But there could be some opportunities in the area with a group like that to help. With being with the chamber my whole thing is let’s get them to stay right here and do business here. So, that’s my two cents. Ms. Clarke responded with thank you so much and that is good insight. And in order to get them to stay we have to provide avenues for them to stay. Ms. Vendetti responded that we have to make it easy. June Clarke agreed. And as I said Bally’s is a nice fancy hotel, but another one like Bally’s would do the trick too. Mayor Christiansen asked Dr. Clarke if she has made a presentation to the Kent Tourism Board? Ms. Clarke responded no. Mayor Christiansen asked if she would like to. Dr. Vendetti stated that she thinks that would be good to let the tourism folks know what is available just 3 miles up the road from them which might be helpful. Dr. Vendetti stated that would be good, but it would be even better just to set up a meeting with the guy that is in charge of the Kent County Tourism. Go visit Pete and make sure he understands what is happening in your program because he has connections and avenues and ways to collaborate also. Mayor Christiansen stated that is a good idea. So, we will get Pete Bradley’s contact information for Kent County Tourism. Once again, I thank you and I apologize for the delay in getting you here. I think you’re going to make great things happen. Dr. Vendetti added that collaboration is the key to success not only to your program, but Dover and Central Delaware. NEXT MEETING DATE September 12, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. ADJOURNMANT Mayor Robin R. Christiansen made a motion to adjourn. It’s been moved and seconded by many. Mayor Christiansen called the meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM. Exhibits Exhibit #1 – Delaware State University – Hospitality and Tourism Management Presentation (June E. Clarke/Associate Professor Delaware State University)

THE OLD POST An Adaptive Reuse Mixed Use Development 55 E. Loockerman St | Dover, De

TEAM ORGANIZATION THE OLD POST THE OLD POST Development Team Axia Hotel Group F.A.D. Management Lighthouse Construction, Inc. Thomas Kramedas Francis DiMondi G. Michael Glick President President President TEAM ORGANIZATION 2

LOCALORGANIZATION TEAM INVESTMENTS THE OLD POST TEAM ORGANIZATION 3

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT THE OLD POST (2) 2,500 SF RETAIL UNITS 30 APARTMENT UNITS 2,000 SF BUSINESS Intersection Loockerman St & Legislative Ave PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 4

THE Loft Apartments OLD POST Retail Parking Common Loft Apartments Space Retail Courtyard LEVEL 1 LEVEL 3 Loft Apartments Loft Apartments Office Space Balconies LEVEL 2 LEVEL 4 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 5

THE OLD POST PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 6

THE OLD POST PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 7

THE OLD POST PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 8

City of Dover Economic Development Committee Meeting: Downtown Dover Master Plan Implementation 11-14-23 Diane Laird, DDP Executive Director Ken Anderson, DDP Property Development Director David S. Hugg, III, Dover City Manager

Transforming Downtown Dover Capital City 2030 DOVER, KENT COUNTY, DELAWARE • Critical Improvements Program • New Businesses • Engaging the Community • Downtown Dover Pathways • Site Readiness & Redevelopment • City of Dover

Critical Improvements Program • Critical Improvements Program • Coney Island Hot Dog • 215, 221, 225 W. Loockerman • Rail Haus • Funds allocated $1.15M • Leverage: $1 : $5 • Application to relaunch

Coney Island Hot Dog Doug Ferris, Property Owner

Multiple properties: 215, 221, 225 W. Loockerman St. Kim Adams, Property Owner • Gingo Xpress grab ‘n go grocery • Eat-in restaurant with new commercial kitchen • Multiple market-rate residential apartments • Expanded offices of Mountain Consulting

Rail Haus Donny Legans, Co-Owner of Delaware’s first year ‘round beer garden

Other new businesses… • Key to Life Juice Bar • Uncle Paulie’s Discount

Other new businesses… • The Hive on Loockerman LLC • Stone Rail Market • The Wedding Boutique (expanded space)

Engaging the community… www.DowntownDoverPartnership.com

Downtown Dover Pathways Marilyn Smith, Executive Director Dover Kent MPO Supporting bike travel through a grant from Dover Kent MPO!

• Conduct additional focus groups with specific stakeholders • Gather additional data from Public Engagement mapping tool • Develop and analyze alternatives • Public Workshop #2 • Develop final recommendations

Site Readiness & Redevelopment Ken Anderson DDP Property Development Director • Site-readiness initiatives • Update 120 S. Governor’s Ave redevelopment • MOU to Letter of Agreement • Multi-modal transportation hub

120 S. Governor’s Avenue concept

But first… Dave Hugg, III City Manager Application for rezoning to C2 submitted • Three workshops held • December first reading • Target completion: February 2024 Request to extend DDD Boundary by 14 acres submitted to OSPC. • Meeting to review held with OSPC/DSHA • Scheduled for consideration by Cabinet Committee: January Utility easement for drainage and agreement for parking being drafted.

East End Gateway to the Business District… Dave Hugg, III City Manager • “Old Post” Agreement of sale pending signature (completed negotiations).