WILMINGTON, DE—The Buccini/Pollin Group, Inc. (BPG) has purchased the DuPont Building and Hotel du Pont, a 950,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use complex, from The Chemours Company, which has agreed to lease back office space for 17 years. CBRE acted as an advisor to Chemours on the sale. The DuPont Building dates back to 1908 as one of the first high-rises built here, built to house DuPont headquarters.
“The purchase of the DuPont Building and its assets couldn’t make any more sense to us right now,” said Chris Buccini, co-president of The Buccini/Pollin Group, which has purchased more than 40 properties in downtown Wilmington, including two former DuPont headquarter buildings that it repositioned into multi-tenant, mixed-use buildings. “There is no better way to coalesce our long-running vision for a vibrant downtown where people come together to live, work and play, than to take on the DuPont Building and re-envision it as a modern version of what it has always been, a lifestyle center for the city of Wilmington.”
The $175-million project that BPG has planned for the property includes the preservation of The Hotel du Pont and its signature Green Room restaurant. BPG’s affiliate PM Hotel Group will manage the hotel. The 1200-seat Playhouse on Rodney Square will remain in operation.
The first phase of modernization will involve turning 256,000 sq. ft. of existing office space into the modern, open plan headquarters space for Chemours, with a dedicated entrance lobby on Market St. across from Rodney Square The company will add approximately 180 luxury multi-family units, and the residential portion of the building will have its own dedicated lobby entrance on 10th St. and will feature shared services and amenities provided by Hotel du Pont.