WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Parts of a Wilmington, Delaware, neighborhood damaged in the 1968 riots ignited by Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination are set to be redeveloped after many years of empty restoration promises.
The 36-block West Center City neighborhood never rebounded from the riot and an ensuing nine-month occupation by the National Guard. It has struggled with vacant homes and gun crimes ever since.
The News Journal of Wilmington reports that for decades, city officials promised restoration and development initiatives that didn't happen.
Now state grants to demolish and rebuild several properties have been awarded, and the Wilmington Housing Authority also plans to renovate and sell about 20 properties. A demolition and rebuilding project by the nonprofit Wilmington Land Bank started last week and is set to be completed by March.
