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Photograph by Dave Norbut
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The folks at Mitchell Associates have much to celebrate this month: 50 years in design consulting, 30 years on the Wilmington Riverfront, one employee’s 70th birthday—heck, they’re even feting Frank Sinatra’s centennial.
The secret to the firm’s longevity? “The clients,” says Lou Rosenberg, company co-founder and principal. “Servicing our clients is our biggest asset because the majority of our business is repeat business. We’ve got clients we’ve been working with for 20, 30, 40 years. It takes a good client to do a good job.”
Mitchell Associates offers expertise in interior architectural design, space planning and donor recognition. It was one of the first businesses to set up shop along the fledgling Christina riverfront. Along with clients like DuPont and Christiana Care, Mitchell Associates has also served many of its many banking neighbors through the years. Perhaps the firm’s most visible works are the large signs displayed atop high-rise buildings throughout Wilmington.
The company will hold a celebration on May 5 that will involve many businesses and clients that are just a stone’s throw from its office. Sinatra impersonator Sean Reilly will provide entertainment. And while Mitchell Associates begins its next 50 years, employees will continue to enjoy an unparalleled view of the winding Christina River, the replica ship Kalmar Nyckel and the firm’s status as a trailblazer.
“[The late Wilmington Mayor] Dan Frawley once referred to us as pioneers,” Rosenberg says, “but I corrected him and said, ‘Hey, Dan. We were the scouts. We sat down here for a long time with no one else down here.’”
