No Rezoning for High-Rises
Bancroft Parkway is Wilmington's first greenway -- a century-old public asset linking Rockford Park to Canby Park. A proposed rezoning threatens to permanently change what can be built here. We need your voice!
📢 UPDATE (8/27): The Rezoning Is Moving to City Council, Action Needed NowÂ
Despite the Planning Commission's 4-1 vote recommending against this rezoning, the application is moving forward to City Council. Likely dates are:
September 3: First and second readings
September 17: Third reading and Final vote
We're also hearing there are negotiations of a smaller building than the version proposed on 8/13. A smaller building does not fix the underlying problem. The question before Council isn't what the developer says it will build today — it's whether to permanently change the zoning to allow up to 15 stories and 180 feet on this site, for this developer or any future owner.
Contact (email and call) ALL City Councilmembers and ask them to vote NO when this comes up for vote. No email is too short!
Click here to launch a draft email with all ALL City Councilmember email addresses.
More information and guidance: Contact City Council →
Please visit our Updates page for the past developments.
Wilmington’s historic Bancroft Parkway is at risk of permanent change. A developer is seeking to rezone two parcels at the corner of Bancroft Parkway and West 11th Street in order to construct an almost 200-unit luxury apartment building proposed at up to 12 stories alongside family-friendly neighborhoods of two- and three-story homes.
But this isn’t just about one building. The rezoning being requested by the revised application (submitted 5/29/2026) would still permanently allow structures up to 15 stories and 180 feet on this corner, with no binding limit. The developer’s renderings for their design are not a legal commitment. The zoning is.
Read more on What's Being Proposed →Â
We support thoughtful development on Bancroft Parkway. What we oppose is a rezoning that hands any future owner a blank check to build well beyond what this corridor can absorb. If this rezoning is approved, the character of Bancroft Parkway could be changed forever. The proposed building steps from 4 stories along Bancroft Parkway up to 12 stories toward North Grant Avenue — significantly taller than any structure along the parkway today. But the rezoning would allow buildings as high as 15 stories on this corner. Once that precedent is set, it cannot be easily undone.
Bancroft Parkway is a residential greenway, not a commercial corridor. The amended application still requests C-2 zoning for a portion of the site — a designation the city's own zoning code reserves for 'main highways' serving large segments of the city. The Bancroft-facing parcels would be rezoned to R-5-B, but that designation carries the same 15-story, 180-foot height maximum as C-2. The label changed; the height ceiling did not.
This process is still in motion. The City Planning Commission has heard from you and now Wilmington City Council need to hear from the people who live here. Here is how you can help:
Contact City Council
City Council has the final vote on the rezoning ordinance. Email or call all City Council members today!
Attend City Council Meetings
The rezoning ordinance must be read three times at City Council meetings before a vote. See dates below.
Get a Yard Sign
Yard signs will help raise awareness to this effort. Submit your info via this form if you're interested in a yard sign or contributing to the yard sign fund.Â
Spread the Word
Share this site (ProtectBancroftParkway.org) with your neighbors, especially those along Bancroft Parkway, Bancroft Village, Wawaset Park, the Highlands, Forty Acres, and Union Park Gardens. Talk to the people on your street. Every voice matters.
Get Involved or Pledge Your Support
Help with outreach and communications, volunteer for door-to-door signature collection, or pledge financial support.
Join our Mailing List
Sign-up to receive updates on our progress and ways you and your neighbors can help.Â
FILL OUT THIS SHORT FORM to get involved and/or pledge your support and we will be in touch!
This process is moving quickly. All dates are subject to change.
✅ City Planning Commission Public HearingÂ
Tuesday August 18th, 2026, 6pm.
City Planning Commission voted against approval of rezoning (4 against, 1 in favor) -- This is good!
Following the Planning Commission hearing and vote, the rezoning ordinance moves to City Council. It must be read at two separate Council meetings before it is read at a third and a vote could be taken. City Council meets the first and third Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
City Council Readings 1&2:Â Thursday, September 3rd (likely)
City Council Reading 3 / Vote:Â Thursday, September 17th (likely)
Learn more about How the Process Works →Â
For a comprehensive look at this proposal — including developer presentations, traffic and zoning analysis, the case against the rezoning, comparison to the city’s 2028 Comprehensive Plan, and the formal protest process — see Information Regarding Opposition to "The Bancroft".
We are a coalition of neighbors working to protect Bancroft Parkway and preserve Wilmington’s historic greenways and neighborhoods. We live in the blocks surrounding Bancroft Parkway.
We’ve joined forces to voice our opposition to the proposed building, the proposed zoning changes, and their potential long-term impact on the City of Wilmington.Â
It's important to note that we are not anti- development. Instead, we support smart development that aligns with the character of neighborhoods and considers the long-term impact of zoning changes. That’s why we are challenging this permanent rezoning that would change the character of this historic street – and the neighborhoods surrounding it forever. Â
