MILFORD, Del. — Construction is scheduled to begin in late May or early June to transform the former Carlisle Firehouse into 15 workforce apartments.
The 23,940-square-foot building, located at 11 Church St., has been vacant for more than a decade. Originally built in 1924, the structure was later used as office space by the Department of Public Health. It sits on approximately 0.36 acres and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The firehouse stands on the site of a former shirt factory that burned down in 1920, according to Milford resident Daniel Bond, managing member of DE OZ Property Management LLC, the firm leading the redevelopment.
Bond says the workforce apartments plan to target rents that are no more than 30 percent of family take-home income for families with incomes that are in the range of 80 to 120 percent of the area's median family income.
"If you build apartments in Milford, you're going to have them occupied," said Bond. "You don't have to worry about having an empty building."
The project aims to revitalize one of the largest buildings in Milford’s historic downtown district.
"The building is structurally in very good shape, so it'd be a shame to tear it down and in fact would be very expensive to tear it," said Bond.
Milford local Victoria Pitts likes the revitalization idea.
"I think it's actually pretty cool," said Pitts. I think it's something that we need around here."
Bond is hopeful that construction will start around June and the apartments, which he says may be called the Firehouse Apartments, should be ready in a year.
“This will put back into productive use one of the largest buildings in Milford’s historic downtown, which will enhance the economic and social vitality of this area,” company officials wrote in a December 2024 report.
There will be 15 parking spots, a mix of one and two bedroom apartments and the whole building will be wheelchair accessible with an elevator, according to Bond.
The project is located in Milford's Downtown Development District, meaning DE OZ Property Management LLC can expect to receive up to 20 percent of the qualified construction costs from the State.