Opinion ID: 2010991
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: History of Gibraltar

Text: The Gibraltar Estate is located on approximately seven acres at the corner of Pennsylvania and Greenhill avenues in Wilmington. [5] Its gardens were designed by landscape artist Marion Coffin, who designed most of the public open spaces at Winterthur and the University of Delaware. The mansion at Gibraltar was built in 1844 by industrialist John Brinkle. The 17,000-square-foot, slate and granite house became the home of Hugh Rodney Sharp in the early 20th century. Sharp expanded the mansion considerably. Gibraltar is bordered on all sides by a stone wall, making it one of the few remaining walled estates in Wilmington. It is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Situated at the edge of the Highlands neighborhood, Gibraltar is in an area zoned R-1 (residential), although both commercial and residential uses exist in the surrounding neighborhoods. Following the death of Hugh Rodney Sharp, the Sharp family intended to demolish the mansion and develop the Gibraltar Estate for townhouses or single family homes. The neighbors in the surrounding community opposed large-scale development of the property and, following a statewide lobbying effort, the Wilmington City Council passed a resolution encouraging the State of Delaware to make funding available for the acquisition of Gibraltar. In 1997, the Sharp family conveyed the property in fee simple to PDI in exchange for a $1 million grant from the State of Delaware Open Space Council. At the same time, the Sharp family granted the State a conservation easement that limits future development of the property. As a result, PDI became the legal owner of Gibraltar, subject to the terms of the conservation easement. The easement was intended to limit development of Gibraltar while ensuring its preservation and viability. It precludes the current owner and any future owners from demolishing the mansion and surrounding structures, requires that the gardens stay preserved and limits the size and location of any new construction if the land is redeveloped. New construction may only be located on the north side of the property near 16th Street. The entire south side of the propertythe front lawn bordering Pennsylvania Avenueis protected as open space, and construction and development is prohibited. Restoration work on the property must be conducted in accord with the Standards for Historic Preservation. When PDI acquired Gibraltar, it raised funds to renovate and restore the gardens, which remain open to the public free of charge. PDI never intended to restore the mansion, however. Instead, PDI sought a developer to restore the mansion and provide an adaptive reuse that would generate a consistent income to maintain the property. The costs of restoration and upkeep were estimated at approximately $5 million for the mansion alone, an amount that exceeded any return if the mansion were sold as a single-family residence. In 2000, PDI contracted with Someplace Different, Inc. (SDI) to develop the property into a bed and breakfast. The plans included an inn and a restaurant, as well as the construction of a new building with 14 additional rooms. SDI needed a use variance from the ZBA to develop the bed and breakfast. The ZBA unanimously granted the use variance in January 2000. SDI, however, was unable to secure the necessary funding for the project and had to withdraw its proposal. PDI sought other developers for a bed and breakfast but found none. In 2004, PDI sought new adaptive reuse proposals and eventually selected the proposal from CCS to develop Gibraltar into office space. CCS proposed to use the two existing structures and to build a new two-story, 10,000-square-foot structure to provide a total of approximately 40,000 square feet of office space for a maximum of three tenantsone per building. The plans would accommodate parking for 97 cars, with 23 spaces underground, below the new office building. The main entrance and exit from Gibraltar would be at the corner of Greenhill Avenue and 16th Street, so as not to cause additional traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue.