About Us
Cornerstone West
710 North Lincoln Street
Wilmington, DE 19805 – Locate via MAPQUEST
(302) 472-3700 or (302) 658-4171
(302) 888-5314 – fax
Joan Fultz
Director
JFultz@westendnh.org
John McNamara
Development Planner
JMcNamara@westendnh.org
Tyshena Crippen
Administrative Assistant
TCrippen@westendnh.org
Christian Willauer
Neighborhood Planner
CWillauer@westendnh.org
History
Established in 1999, Cornerstone West is a not for profit community development corporation which grew from a collaborative effort between West End Neighborhood House, Inc., St. Francis Hospital and the community. In order to improve the economic viability of Wilmington’s Westside, Cornerstone West was designed to be a proactive catalyst for positive community revitalization and to deliver a housing system that serves the needs of New Castle County’s low to moderate-income families.
To achieve an increased rate of homeownership and provide additional opportunities for low-and-moderate income families, Cornerstone West’s priorities include:
- To create homeownership opportunities through the renovation, construction and sale of homes;
- To provide home improvement opportunities to current homeowners through the rehabilitation of their homes;
- To facilitate collaborative strategies for community revitalization working with the neighborhood planning council, neighborhood association and small business organization.
Successes and Effects on Local Communities
Over the last ten years, Cornerstone West has pumped over $50 million in capital funds into new home construction and renovations – creating private investment in communities and revitalizing three dilapidated Wilmington neighborhoods. Specifically:
- 101 blighted or vacant homes have been turned into homeownership or rental opportunities.
- 94 low-income existing homeowners were provided renovations and/or façade improvements to their homes, many of which were senior citizens experiencing major system failures.
- Clayton Court, a 72-unit substandard apartment complex, was completely renovated.
- Speakman Place, a 71-unit mixed-income community, was built by cleaning up a former factory site and brownfield.
- An additional $5.5 million has been invested by private developers in Cornerstone communities as a direct result of our work.
Cornerstone West’s efforts to create more affordable housing opportunities and revitalize neighborhoods has had an astounding effect on the communities we have focused on; property values in these targeted areas have risen over 100% and homeownership rates soared from 8% to over 100%. The current average of all neighborhoods worked on reveals a 44% increase in homeownership.
Cornerstone’s work has helped hundreds of low and moderate-income families achieve their first home; 47% of our first time homebuyers are below 50% of median income.
For more Cornerstone West accomplishments, visit our Accomplishments page.