Why should Delaware Care: There are nearly 1,000 vacant properties in Wilmington, including the 19th-century Gibraltar estate that for years sat crumbling in the upscale Highlands neighborhood after redevelopment plans fell through. For the past year, public debate over the estate’s future and use of tax money has intensified. The scrutiny has now deepened over the city’s plans to transfer the mansion to a new private entity aligned with the former mayor.
The board of Wilmington’s Land Bank wants to transfer a historic mansion rehabbed with the help of millions of taxpayer dollars to a newly created private company.
During a Thursday meeting of the Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank, board member Rick Gessner said the owner of the gardens that sit adjacent to the sprawling estate wants to reunite the two properties and place them under the ownership of a company called Gibraltar Estate & Gardens Inc.…