Downtown Salisbury’s parking drama puts city officials and developers at odds

Salisbury, De. – Developers and local leaders disagree over parking in Salisbury. And although they disagree, residents and workers are struggling with the consequences, and we dove deep into the details of this downtown drama.

Parking, packages and promises. This property was listed for sale in 2002 and in 2015 Gillis Gilkerson was the successful bidder on a Request for Proposal or RFP. In June 2023, Gilkerson and the City of Salisbury signed a land sale agreement with a temporary lease bond that makes Gilkerson the landlord and the City the tenant.

In 2023, the current parking spaces in parking lots 1, 11 and 15 were successfully acquired. Now, Brad says, the city has broken its promise. “Because the City of Salisbury lacks the good faith and good faith to continue to meet its obligations under the land disposal agreement, we have made the business decision to no longer make these parcels that we acquired for development available for surface parking,” City of Salisbury .”

But Brad Gillis says the city has broken its promise. Mayor Randy Taylor vehemently disagrees. “The project that has been proposed from our point of view has a parking problem, which means that the density that they are asking for, combined with all the other requirements, will put us in a position that I believe we are confident will put us in a position where we will have a parking shortage, a significant parking shortage.”

Mayor Taylor says the developers are the ones who broke their promises. “We have a contract based on completing a permit-eligible project, which he doesn’t have. If someone has violated the agreement, they have done so by failing to meet the timelines. We believe he is in default with the agreement. That’s why we’re taking steps to close the parking lots.”

Due to this division, the city center has now drawn a line due to a lack of better conditions. Gillis says they have sections of lots in the parking lots along their property line. “We will barricade the entrances. And then we will also put up a fence along the property line to ensure that no one who is on our property is trespassing on city property.”

The developers plan to close the property to the public on November 11, and Gillis says their plan is to build “affordable housing.” to fulfill their contract. “We are absolutely in a housing crisis right now. As real estate developers, we believe that prices will fall, the greater the supply, the greater the demand. There will be 222 multifamily apartments, a 450-space parking garage and 7,000 square feet of commercial space. So we’re really excited about that.”

Mayor Taylor says this is not a viable project and the properties will remain open. “Fundamentally, November 11th is irrelevant from the perspective of our agreement and our perception of the agreement and our situation…Until he can approve and have a viable project, the parking lots are the cities, and that’s how it will stay.”

The nearby downtown parking garage will remain open until an arrangement is made. Developers say closing the properties was a difficult decision, but it was for the greater good.
Meanwhile, Mayor Taylor says he hopes an agreement can be reached that the development is possible, but with accessibility for all in mind.