Cost of DuPont campus redevelopment in Wilmington doubles to $1B

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Philadelphia Business Journal | Paul Schwedelson

MRA Group's price tag to redevelop a former DuPont Corp. campus in Wilmington has doubled to $1 billion, as the scope of the 163-acre project expands due to increased demand from prospective life sciences tenants.

The Horsham developer acquired the site for $40 million in December 2021 with 14 buildings spanning 780,000 square feet. It had planned a redevelopment of the site that would cost $500 million and total 900,000 square feet, a figure that since been upped to 1.4 million. The Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park has room to eventually span 2.1 million square feet.

“That (1.4 million square feet) number has evolved for us as we started planning out the campus and seeing what the options were, what the opportunities are,” said Larry Stuardi, CEO of MRA Group. “Really, we’re responding to opportunity and need. Could the need drive it beyond that? Yes, but at some point, you want to have a balance on the campus.”

The projected price of the development has also increased due to inflation and rising costs.

MRA Group had originally planned for the build out to take three to five years, a timeline that could now go as long as seven years, Stuardi said.

Of the available 700,000 square feet currently available, Stuardi said about 380,000 square feet is leased. Tenants include DuPont, chemicals manufacturer Solenis and biopharmaceutical company Prelude Therapeutics. DuPont previously used the campus as office and lab space, and continues to retain its headquarters at the site.

“As we got into it, as we started dealing with prospective tenants with a number of companies and doing different layouts on the campus we got comfortable with a larger footprint while still being able to maintain the environment, the common areas, the amenities we have planned for the site," Stuardi said.

Over time, more expansion is possible, but Stuardi said he wants to maintain outdoor space and only build once there’s demand for more.

As talks continue with interested tenants, MRA is working on creating amenities like a 13,000-square-foot day care. Stuardi said MRA is in discussions with day care operators to see who will operate the space. Just north of the campus, Wegmans opened its first Delaware grocery store this past fall.

MRA gutted a building for Prelude down to its core and shell and the redevelopment has “turned out beautifully,” Stuardi said. Construction is also beginning on a 102,000-square-foot-building for Solenis.

MRA previously developed TEK Park, a Lehigh County technology campus with 800,000 square feet of space on 130 acres. It’s also developing Spring House Innovation Park, featuring 700,000 square feet of lab and office space on 133 acres in Lower Gwynedd Township.

“Looking at [the Chestnut Run] campus, I believe this campus offers the most opportunity for us as far as evolving with the needs and times,” Stuardi said. “With that, again, there’s a cap on how much you can do and how much you want to do but that’s how much this campus has grown.”

As MRA’s plans changed, Stuardi said the company has gone back to lenders and worked on structuring financing to limit risk. Though lending has become tighter in the past six months, Stuardi said the key remains to balance risk and reward.

“Development can be a risky business,” Stuardi said. “Just like any other business. There’s no guarantees. One thing you have to be able to do all the time is evolve and change and adjust to the changes. Fortunately a campus like CRISP affords us that opportunity.”