Commercial | Leasing | Sponsorship | Employment
Starting a Business in Newark

COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES

Best of all, there IS room for you.

The Downtown Newark Partnership is looking for unique, quality businesses.
Currently, businesses targeted for recruitment are:
  • Apparel and Accessories (Men's, Women's and Children's)
  • Home Accessories
  • Gourmet Grocery
  • Shoes
  • Art
  • Small Boutique Hotel/Inn
  • Craft Stores With Lessons
  • Party Supplies
  • Paint Your Own Pottery
  • Video Rental
  • Adult Destination/Restaurant
  • Gifts, Stationary, Cards
If you are seeking commercial opportunities, Newark is the place to be. The City's retail trade area, demographic profile, and municipal and private facilities make Newark an ideal home for you and your business.

Newark is a full-service municipality with extremely low property taxes, cheap and reliable electric service, has an internationally accredited Police Department, clean and plentiful water, excess sanitary sewer capacity, beautiful parks and recreation areas, and a vibrant, thriving, exciting downtown.

Among its services to businesses, the City provides special tax incentives for downtown development, offers 0 - 3% interest improvement loans for business facades, and manages and operates downtown off street parking lots, including a discount parking validation program subsidy for local merchants. City staff is proud of our community and is ready, willing and able to help quickly guide you through the development review process and site selection.

Check out just some of the reasons you should consider Newark, Delaware for your business:

  • Forecast Newark trade area population (2002) -
    63% between the ages of 20 - 64 = 180,000
  • Highly educated population -
    55% awarded degrees beyond high school
  • Projected average household income (2002) - $ 59,000
  • City wide traffic count - over 200,000 daily trips
  • Municipal off-street parking - 484 spaces
  • Metered center City on-street parking - 364 spaces
  • Total retail product demand - $880,000,000
  • Main Street traffic count - 50,000 daily trips
  • Downtown University of Delaware garage - 605 spaces
  • Downtown private off-street parking - 1,160 spaces
  • UD Enrollment - Full Time Undergraduates - 15,000
  • UD Enrollment - Full Time Graduate Students - 3,000
  • UD Faculty and staff - 3,400
  • Extremely low unemployment rate - only 2.9%
  • Location, location, location -
    • Wilmington - 18 miles
    • Philadelphia - 45 miles
    • Baltimore - 61 miles
    • Washington, DC - 96 miles
    • New York, NY - 134 miles
 

How Are We Doing?

          As part of our commitment to downtown Newark, the Downtown Newark Partnership and the City of Newark continually reevaluate our effectiveness in spearheading downtown revitalization efforts.  Recently, as part of that reevaluation we measured our progress by using a questionnaire from Ontario, Canada, developed for that Province’s cites and towns, and modified it to fit our system of government.  Here’s the questionnaire and how Newark scored:  

1.      Does your municipality have a person designated to be the key contact for   Yes / No
 downtown revitalization?

2.      Does your municipality have a Business Improvement Area?                              Yes / No

[We presume Ontario is referring to a Business Improvement District; while we do not have one of those we do have, as part of our comprehensive plan, a Downtown Newark Development District.  So we will give ourselves a qualified “No.”]

3.      Does your municipality provide technical support to your downtown            Yes / No
  with a planner or economic development person?

4.      Is your mayor considered a downtown booster?                                                       Yes / No

5.      Can you easily get information on your downtown including statistics,           Yes / No
  maps and photos?

6.      Does your municipality have a comprehensive plan or other                               Yes / No
  type of plan for the downtown?

7.      Is your zoning code favorable for downtown development?                                 Yes / No

8.      Is the downtown addressed in a significant way in your comprehensive          Yes / No
   plan?

9.      Are there downtown signage code requirements?                                                       Yes / No

10.  Does the municipality have any recent studies on the downtown,                         Yes / No
  including a retail space assessment or parking?

11.   Does your municipality quickly respond to downtown problems                          Yes / No
 noted by the community regarding parking or public safety?

12.  Does council consider parking a priority?                                                                          Yes / No

13.   Does your mayor or city manager regularly meet with downtown                        Yes / No
  business people or stakeholders?

14.   Does your municipality have new government programs or policies                   Yes / No
  regarding downtown development? 

15.    Does your municipality help market the downtown?                                                  Yes / No

16.    Is downtown included in the city’s website?                                                                   Yes / No

17.    Does your municipality have any financial incentive programs                            Yes / No
   for downtown property owners? 

18.    Are there programs to help support historic buildings?                                            Yes / No

19.    Has the municipality helped with streetscape improvements?                               Yes / No

20.  Has any reinvestment recently occurred in municipality owned                            Yes / No
properties located downtown?

                                                                                                                            Newark’s “Yes’s”:     19!!!!!!  

How Did We Score?  

Here is Ontario’s score sheet to help assess how much of a priority downtown is to their communities.

 

Number of Yes's


Evaluation


16-20

Congratulations! The downtown is an important priority in your community.  But don't rest on your laurels.  Chances are that there are still areas that need improvement.

 
11-15

Not bad.  The downtown is a reasonably important priority for your community.  But there is plenty of room for improvement. 

 
6-10

Hmm…not so hot.  There is lots more you should be doing.  If you are in the process of developing a downtown revitalization plan, great (you need it).

 
0-5

Ouch! You are hurting.  You've got to get Council and municipal staff to sit up and take notice of the downtown!

 

WE HAVE PASSED THE CANADIAN’S TEST WITH FLYING COLORS; WHY NOT STOP BY AND SEE WHY YOUR BUSINESS WILL SUCCEED IN OUR TOP SCORING DOWNTOWN!!!!!!

 

Please contact the City of Newark Planning Department at (302) 366-7030 or the Downtown Newark Partnership via e-mail (dnp@newark.de.us) for retail space information:

  • Locations
  • Square Footage
  • Permitted uses
  • Availability
  • Rent
  • Special Conditions
  • Parking
  • Contact's name and telephone number

 

The HyettPalma report is available in the Planning Department.  Please e-mail dnp@newark.de.us to request a copy.