Downtown Development District Program Makes A Splash

The grand opening of Splash Laundromat in Georgetown is extra reason to celebrate for its owners.

Enrique and Veronica Nunez were presented with a Downtown Development District rebate check of nearly $458,000 Friday.
The five-year-old program generates private capital investment into commercial business districts. Qualifying investments in one of twelve designated areas can apply for a rebate of up to 20-percent of eligible costs.

“I am honored to celebrate the grand opening of Splash Laundromat and present a DDD rebate check to Enrique and Veronica Nunez for their hard work to help revitalize Georgetown’s downtown area,” Governor John Carney said. “This project demonstrates how the DDD program can be used as a valuable resource during this time for small businesses looking to expand, entrepreneurs opening new businesses, and homeowners completing renovation projects in our state’s downtowns.”

Delaware State Housing Authority Director Anas Ben Addi says the Downtown Development District program is accepting applications for more rebates through next January 8th.

“Community development is central to DSHA’s mission, and we are pleased to be able to offer this funding to support continued economic growth in our downtowns,” Ben Addi said. “We hope Enrique and Veronica Nunez’s story will inspire other business owners and investors to take advantage of the DDD program and apply for an award for their own large or small projects in one of the state’s 12 designated districts.”

The property was vacant when it was purchases by the Nunezes in September 2015. They renovated and expanded the building to include the laundromat, a hair salon and coffee shop and snack bar on the first floor and three apartments on the second floor. The total development cost was nearly $2.7-million.

“We could not have completed this project without the support of the DDD program,” Enrique Nunez said. “This program gave us the financial security of knowing we would receive a portion of our total development cost back as a rebate. For a small business owner, this security is crucial, especially given the current economic situation, and we are grateful to DSHA and the State of Delaware for offering business owners like us the opportunity to participate in the DDD program.”