RIPA ReAl eStAte InveStMentS
Office and retail
spaces for lease
■ S. Front Street
■ S. College Road
■ 1221 Floral Parkway
■ Market Street
Starting at
$500 per month
Office: 910-791-7472
Cell: 910-262-8794
HILE he and Spetrino were developing residential and com-mercial
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WBM june 2018
buildings, Nathans also was eyeing the historic St.
Andrews Church, constructed in 1888.
Over the years congregations launched capital campaigns
for maintenance on the historic building, but it gradually
fell into disrepair. By the early ’70s, holes in the roof forced
worshippers out of the sanctuary and into the annex. In
1996, Hurricane Fran blew in the front wall of the church,
causing the roof to collapse.
The city acquired the building in 1998, and solicited development bids (RFDs)
with the proviso that the any selected be used “to benefit the whole neighborhood,
promote the cultural history and diversity of Wilmington and support the physical
and economic revitalization of the North Fourth Street area.”
Nathans’ bid for the church, the adjacent manse and the nearby firehouse was
selected in September 2002. The manse became an office complex. The old Station 3
firehouse, built in 1907, became a training center for new recruits and space for the
investigative division of the police department while the new headquarters was being
built — a factor in attracting other developers and businesses back to the area.