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 (9/3): Sept. 3 Readings Postponed — New Dates Not Yet SetÂ
Despite the Planning Commission's 4-1 vote recommending against this rezoning, the application is moving forward to City Council. Nearly 40 people spoke at the Planning Commission hearing, with more than 300 people attending in person and online — that turnout is what drove the 4-1 result, and we need to keep it up.
The Bancroft rezoning will NOT be introduced at the Sept. 3 City Council meeting. It has been held for that meeting only — it has NOT been withdrawn.
Because the first and second readings did not happen on Sept. 3 as planned, the rest of the schedule shifts too. The Sept. 16 Community Development & Urban Planning Committee meeting and the Sept. 17 City Council vote were built around that timeline, so those dates are no longer expected to hold. We do not yet know the new dates. City Council meetings are generally held on the first and third Thursdays of the month, and we will share updated dates as soon as they're confirmed.
Thursday, September 3 — 6:30 PM
City Council Meeting (regular meeting — Bancroft rezoning not on the agenda)
Council Chambers, Louis L. Redding City/County Building, 800 N. French Street* (Virtual link – if you cannot attend in person)
*Parking available at the Government Garage and on the street.
As soon as the first and second readings, the CD&UP Committee meeting, and the final vote are rescheduled, we'll let you know here and by email.
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The developer has offered to build something smaller than the maximum allowed under the proposed rezoning. But a promise made today about what the developer intends to build is not the same thing as putting a permanent height or density limitation into the zoning.
We also need Councilmembers to understand an important distinction:
Deed restrictions and "voluntary commitments" are private agreements. They are not zoning. The hard fact is that any developer, whether it is Tsionas or another one in the future, will have the right to build up to 15 stories. It does not matter what is promised today or tomorrow. The allowable height will always be 15 stories.
If the City believes a particular height or density is appropriate for this site, those limitations should be established through the City’s zoning process—not left for neighboring residents to enforce ourselves through private legal action.
The community has been very clear: The developer should build within the existing zoning. We support housing. We support development. We want these parcels put to productive use. But we do not believe the City should prioritize the developer’s wishes at the expense of thousands of residents who are opposed.
1. Email ALL members of City Council
Please tell them that you oppose the rezoning and that private commitments are not a substitute for zoning. Council should not approve a rezoning that allows substantially greater height and density and then rely on private agreements to limit what can actually be built.
You can find all Councilmembers' contact information here: Contact City Council →
2. Attend one, or all, of the upcoming City Council Meetings -- Dates TBD
Even if you don't want to speak, your presence matters. Councilmembers need to see that this issue matters to the people who live here.Â
3. Share this information with your neighbors
There are still people who don't understand that the rezoning would permanently change what can be built on these parcels — or that Council, not the developer, is ultimately responsible for deciding whether that change should happen.
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:
1. Email ALL members of City Council
Please tell them that you oppose the rezoning and that private commitments are not a substitute for zoning. Council should not approve a rezoning that allows substantially greater height and density and then rely on private agreements to limit what can actually be built.
You can find all Councilmembers' contact information here: Contact City Council →
2. Attend one – or all – of the upcoming City Council Meetings
Even if you don't want to speak, your presence matters. Councilmembers need to see that this issue matters to the people who live here.Â
See dates above or below.
3. Share this information with your neighbors
There are still people who don't understand that the rezoning would permanently change what can be built on these parcels — or that Council, not the developer, is ultimately responsible for deciding whether that change should happen.
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.
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.
✅ Tuesday August 18th, 2026, 6:00 PM City Planning Commission Public Hearing
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 a City Council meeting 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 Meeting Thursday, September 3 — 6:30 PM
(regular meeting; Bancroft rezoning not on the agenda)
The Bancroft rezoning was scheduled for first and second readings on Sept. 3 but has been held for that meeting only. It has not been withdrawn.Â
Community Development & Urban Planning Committee Meeting -- DATE TBD
City Council Meeting — Vote -- DATE TBD
These two meetings were tied to the Sept. 3 readings schedule. Since that didn't happen, new dates have not yet been set. We'll post them here as soon as they're confirmed.
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
