Downtown Development District

On August 10, 2016, Governor Jack Markell announced the Town of Georgetown's designation as a Downtown Development District (DDD). Qualified investors in the designated District will be eligible for a variety of incentives from the State of Delaware, Sussex County, and the Town of Georgetown. Grant rebates of up to 20% of construction costs from the State of Delaware for qualifying projects over $25,000 are available, along with other State incentives. The County will match a portion of the State's rebate, and the Town is offering a variety of incentives relating to fee reductions and waivers, property tax increase phase-in, impact fee reductions, and grants.

Additional information about Georgetown's Downtown Development District can be found by following the links below.

Statewide Designated Downtown Development Districts

FALL 2024

Please visit DSHA’s website at http://destatehousing.com/Developers/dv_ddd.php to download the Fall 2024 DDD Rebate Program Guidelines and revised applications materials. Additionally, historic tax credits and other local and state incentives are available to investors! To learn more about other DDD incentives, please visit https://stateplanning.delaware.gov/ddd/incentives/index.shtml.

Downtown Development District News

Listed below are news stories regarding Georgetown's Downtown Development District. New posts will be added as they are made available.

DDD Program Guidelines Updated Fall 2024

Downtown Development District Plan

Incentives

The Town of Georgetown is offering a variety of incentives relating to fee reductions and waivers, property tax increase phase-in, impact fee reductions, and grants, which have been adopted for the Downtown Development District. Town incentives include the following: • Property Tax Increase Phase-In • Business License Fee Waiver • Accelerated Development Review Process • Building Permit Fee Reduction • Emergency Services Fee Reduction • Georgetown Recreation, Education, and Arts Trust Fund Fee Reduction • Water Impact Fee Reduction • Sewer Impact Fee Reduction • Sign, Façade, and Awning Grant Qualified investors in the Downtown Development District are also eligible for a variety of incentives from the State and County. Please use the links below to find out more about these incentives:

Ordinances 2016-11 Chapter A250 DDD Incentives

Map and Property Information

A PDF link to Georgetown's adopted Downtown Development District boundary, as well as a link to a map of all designated Districts within the State of Delaware, is below:

Georgetown Downtown Development District Boundary Map

Presentations

Listed below are all presentations that have been created for the Georgetown Downtown Development District (DDD) project. The Town facilitated a DDD Launch Presentation on January 10, 2017. This presentation provides very detailed information about the Downtown initiatives by the Town of Georgetown, Sussex County, and the State of Delaware agencies.

Resources

Listed below are several resources that have been collected to assist in providing specific information relating to the Downtown Development District programs.