In 1992, a group of community-minded citizens and business leaders formed the Laurel Redevelopment Corporation (LRC) specifically for the purpose of rehabilitating and revitalizing the blighted areas of downtown Laurel Delaware. Within months of its founding, and after raising private charitable contributions now totaling nearly $300,000, the LRC removed the worst of the derelict buildings on Market Street and initiated projects and improvements in cooperation with the Town Government which have resulted in the present-day Market Square Park, with its handsome Victorian gazebos and bandstand. During the ensuing years, extensive property purchases along Broad Creek, in the Oldtown residential neighborhood, and in commercial Downtown Laurel, were accomplished. Six sizeable, vacant, derelict and under-utilized commercial and light-industrial sites in the vicinity of Broad Creek were purchased and cleaned up. Where vintage commercial buildings were salvageable, they were renovated and leased to small entrepreneurial firms. (Examples include the Market Street storefronts, as well as the pink cottage and the recently renovated historic Pump House Building near the RJ Riverside restaurant.) The long-neglected banks of Broad Creek were cleaned up, using volunteer civic projects as well as DNREC approved rip-rap construction and professional natural plantings on fully-developed sites. Plans for a public park along the entire south bank of Broad Creek as it flows through Laurel were completed, thus permanently preserving this valuable asset for public use and enjoyment. The graceful tree-lined Janosik Park facing the Record's Pond spillway and fishing areas is now the completed first stage. Since 2005, the park has extended towards Central Avenue, and will eventually reach Laurel River Park, ensuring public enjoyment of the natural beauty of Broad Creek for generations to come. An Entrepreneurial Incubation Program supporting new, growing businesses and their owners with creative leasing arrangements and other financial and business assistance during initial phases of each small enterprise's development thrived for more than eight years. The 15 current commercial and professional operations each contribute to the complementary business/commercial zone that is Laureltown. All net income from these 15 leased properties is reinvested in new LRC projects.
Larger new-construction projects have been completed in the four city block Laureltown commercial complex along the banks of Broad Creek, including Laureltown Commercial/Retail Buildings I, II, III, and IV, as well as the RJ Riverside restaurant and banquet facility. With the completion of the new medical/profession building in October 2005, the six building Laureltown commercial complex represents an LRC investment of $4,000,000 in property and new construction. The Villas on Broad Creek is the latest example of LRC partnering with private owners and developers to achieve property development and economic progress in Laurel. It is estimated that the LRC and its associated projects and partnerships will have provided more than $12,000,000 in direct economic stimulus and benefit to the local economy since 1992.

Economic Benefits

The economic benefits which flow from these investments are not only measured in bricks and mortar. LRC projects (and related investments by the Town of Laurel, the State of Delaware, and LRC-supported local start-up entrepreneurial firms) have provided direct economic stimulus approaching $12 million through the last 15 years, with these funds multiplied many times as they are spent and re-spent throughout the local economy. LRC commercial properties are providing business opportunities to 19 young and growing firms and professionals, and these firms are supporting more than 100 private-sector jobs. Perhaps just as importantly, these enterprises are providing new goods and services to our community, encouraging a more complete and supportive commercial mix, and making for a better quality of life in Laurel.