Redevelopment & Preservation
The Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation is focused on breathing new life into Fort DuPont through thoughtful research, planning, and renovation. The redevelopment of Fort DuPont will incorporate and highlight the fort’s historic character and use as a military base and state landmark.
In 2013, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, in collaboration with Delaware City, conducted a planning process to revitalize the Historic Fort DuPont Complex into a vibrant mixed-use community, fully integrated with adjacent Delaware City.
The Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation was created July 23rd, 2014 when former Governor Jack Markell signed House Bill 310 into law. Sponsored by Representative Valerie Longhurst and Senator Nicole Poore, the legislation defined the powers of the Corporation and outlined the form of its Board of Directors. Executive Director Jeff Randol was hired in 2015.
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The Board of Directors meets the second Wednesday of each month at 8:30 a.m. Location and meeting details are posted on the website Calendar.
The General Assembly recognized that the Fort DuPont Complex along the Delaware River adjacent to Delaware City has enormous potential. It could be a sustainable, mixed-use community producing revenue, jobs, housing choices and recreational and other amenities while preserving its historic character and the surrounding environment.
The corporation will act in a planning and development capacity. It can hold, own, preserve, develop, improve, construct, rent, lease, sell, or otherwise acquire or dispose of any real property, including without limitation any real property comprising the Fort DuPont Complex or portion thereof transferred to the Corporation.
In carrying out its responsibilities, the Corporation has been given the authority to:
- Borrow or accept contributions, grants, or other financial assistance from the federal government, the State, a locality or political subdivision or agency or any source, public or private, to aid of any project of the Corporation, and to these ends, to comply with such conditions and enter into such mortgages. It shall comply with such conditions and enter into such mortgages, trust indentures, leases, or other contracts and agreements as may be necessary or desirable.
- Have and exercise any and all powers available to a corporation under Chapter I of Title 8, the Delaware General Corporation Law.
- Take such other lawful actions that are consistent with the purposes of the enabling legislation in order to oversee, manage, and implement the redevelopment and preservation of the Fort DuPont Complex.
- Recover costs for services or facilities provided, owned, operated, or financed by the Corporation.
Fort DuPont Virtual Tour
Welcome to the Fort DuPont virtual tour!
On this tour you’ll learn why the heavily fortified Fort DuPont was considered a strategic military site. You’ll explore barracks and training facilities where soldiers once prepared to fight in both World Wars–and visit a German a POW camp.
You’ll also discover how Fort DuPont’s original buildings are being reviatalized into new bustling neighborhoods, office buildings, restaurants, and a performing center, nestled amidst beautiful parklands and trails!
Enjoy your journey!
BEFORE AND AFTER SHOTS OF FIELD OFFICER’S QUARTERS
preservation projects
Barracks Buildings
There are three remaining Barracks Buildings located on the 18-acre Parade Ground. They are among the most visually prominent buildings at Fort DuPont and are in the process of being repurposed into offices and research facilities.
Mortar Bunker
Administration Building
Constructed in 1901, near Officers Row as the fort’s first Headquarters, the Administration Building first appears on a 1913 map. In the caption to a historic photograph in Images of America: Fort DuPont, it is stated that this building was home to the administrative functions of the fort in the early years. The first floor housed offices, while the second floor had rooms for courts-martial and records storage.
This two-story, double-pile building is of the Colonial Revival style with its corbelled brick chimneys on each gable end, slight cornice returns, symmetrical fenestration, six-over-six double hung windows with plain board trim and shutters, and a front door with three-part sidelights. It also has a rear addition
The Administration Building has been restored and repurposed into a single family home.
Battery Elder
Constructed of concrete and built in a trapezoidal shape, Battery Elder stands on the eastern edge of the fort. This installation contained two Brown, five-inch, rapid-fire guns. Like the mortar and rifle batteries, the river-facing edge consists of an earthen parapet, with depressed emplacements on either side of a concrete transverse. Powder magazines, flanking the central access of the structure, and a communications/fire control room, make up the core of the Battery. Centrally located stairs provide access to a raised walkway that leads to the gun emplacements.
The Chapel
The Chapel was constructed in 1941 in accordance with standard plan 700-1800 and is one of the many temporary buildings constructed at Fort DuPont during World War II. Very few of the WW II buildings remain. The Chapel is significant for its special use and for its location facing the Parade Ground. Like the Theater and other special purpose buildings, the Chapel’s survival is testimony to recognition of the importance of its role in the life of the fort. The chapel will be restored and repurposed as a community center for meetings, weddings and special events.
