The Delaware College of Art and Design announces that it has sold its historic residence hall property at 521 North King Street. The building, known as the Saville Residence Hall, was originally purchased by the College in 2006. In 2011, the College bought a second residence hall at 707 North King Street, which it still retains.
Interviewed about the sale, DCAD’s President Jean Dahlgren explained, “Even before the pandemic we were seeing a decrease in our resident student population and an increase in our commuter population. DCAD is able to better accommodate our resident population in the building which also contains our cafeteria, which is the 707 Residence Hall. On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered our ability to conduct in-person learning for our students this year, which resulted in zero resident students in the fall, 2020 semester. Fortunately, we were able to pivot to virtual education at the beginning of the Fall term, but it did push the need to examine our long-term goals for our residence program going forward.”
DCAD’s Board of Trustees approved the sale to New Jersey-based Yada Properties. “The sale will allow us to concentrate on important strategic initiatives such as program development, capital improvements to our classrooms at our 600 N. Market Street building, and to our remaining residence hall,” says Dahlgren. “We are about to conduct a complete overhaul of our HVAC systems in the 707 Residence Hall, thanks to the generous support DCAD recently received from the Longwood Foundation, to provide state-of-the-art air handling and safety for our students return in the fall.” “We’re very excited about our new neighbors, Yada Properties, and their revitalization plans. The apartments will be modernized in 2021, preserving the iconic early 1900s exterior. All of these improvements are great for Market Street and will ensure that it remains an essential part of Wilmington’s Creative District while continuing to be a housing option for our students. It’s the best of both worlds,” said Dahlgren.
