Historic recognition
In 1970, Delaware nominated the historic district of Old Brandywine Village – once a separate settlement and town from Wilmington – to be recognized and honored with listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Old Brandywine Village Historic District was added to the National Register the following year.
Sadly, the area suffered in the 1970s and ‘80s from drug-dealing and related crime that led many to close their small, mom-and-pop businesses or move away from the area entirely
Still, the highly detailed historic district nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places, shares the area’s structures and significance that are credited with a modern renaissance and revitalization.
See the National Register of Historic Places listing here: https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/71000229_text
News Journal scoop
On October 22, 2015, The News Journal broke the news that the former Cathedral Church of St. John would be spared from the wrecking ball, for new service as affordable housing for income-eligible seniors.
The story also shares how the area figured into the earliest days of the Ministry of Caring, just after it was started in 1977 by Brother Ronald Giannone. He saw the church almost daily because of a generous ministry supporter who managed a market nearby – and helped feed residents in Delaware’s first shelter for homeless women.
See how those long-separated pictures came together.
Here is the article: https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2015/10/22/historic-church-complex-set-continue-lords-work/74269674/
Cited for preservation
The Village of St. John project was noted by the Delaware State Historic Preservation Office (DSHPO) in the Division of Historical & Cultural Affairs’ bulletin, “Recent Accomplishments, March 2018.”
Detailing what the office called “significant accomplishments,” the state’s top historic preservation officials cited Village of St. John after providing this explanation of the historic preservation tax credits that help support the effort.
“Each year, historic preservation tax credits not only assist with the rehabilitation of significant buildings and revitalization of communities, they also generate considerable private investment and create jobs. In Delaware, the benefits of both the federal and state historic preservation tax credit programs continue to have positive impact.
“In 2017, developers and historic preservation advocates alike watched carefully the deliberations in Washington on tax reform. A significant change or elimination of the federal program could have had devastating effects on preservation efforts and economic investment in some of our local communities. That program is widely recognized as returning more to the U.S. Treasury than it costs. That message apparently resonated with lawmakers, as the program was preserved in the final bill.”
Citing our location as one of six Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive project proposals approved statewide in 2017, DSHPO says, “the Ministry of Caring is converting the former St. John’s Cathedral complex into low income housing, retaining all of the historic buildings in the complex and repurposing the church and lady chapel for common use by the residents.”
Checking construction progress
The Ministry of Caring’s employee newsletter, “Yo, Wazzup in the Ministry” – edited by Lutheran Volunteer Corps/AmeriCorps member Elizabeth Bonin, featured a behind-the-scenes tour that Executive Director Brother Ronald Giannone and senior leaders of the ministry took to see construction progress on the Village of St. John.
Here is that coverage, published February 11, 2019.
