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The Town of Whitehall will be a place where neighbors walk to the market, bike to the park and even live atop their stores.
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The first new town in Delaware in more than 100 years, the Town of Whitehall is a milestone in community living. Think of Whitehall as a hometown, a place where neighbors walk to the market, bike to the park and even live atop their stores.
“It’s time for Whitehall,” says Brian DiSabatino, town founder and president of the EDiS Company, a family-held development and construction firm headquartered in Delaware since 1908. EDiS is partnering with two other town founders that have deep roots in Delaware: Eastern States Group, which has developed or partnered in the development of 26 communities, and the Welfare Foundation, which supports environmental, educational and other community service projects. “It’s a wonderfully crafted team that cares about Delaware—today and tomorrow,” he says.
The Town of Whitehall is located south of Wilmington, a short drive down Del. 1 to Exit 148. The community is adjacent to St. Georges Technical High School and is convenient to Dover, New Castle and Odessa. It’s a short commute to the University of Delaware and Christiana Hospital. Some residents will work in town, some in live/work spaces with retail or commercial businesses on the first floor and private living quarters above. “The doctor, the dentist, the attorney, commercial artists—or someone who wants to work from home but wants more of a professional or separate space,” DiSabatino says.
To come up with a plan, the town founders studied successful planned communities in Europe and the United States, as well as pedestrian-friendly Delaware places, including Rehoboth Beach and Wilmington’s Trolley Square. “The Welfare Foundation pushed us hard to do something special, a community that would be a legacy and span generations,” DiSabatino says. “Whitehall will demonstrate to other developers that there is a better way than putting up a strip shopping center and a cul-de-sac development.”
Architecturally, Whitehall is reminiscent of the Greek Revival style of historic homes in Odessa, simple and compact, with porches that inspire socializing with neighbors. There also are influences from Old New Castle as well as Chestertown and Chesapeake City in Maryland. In listening to folks who have been searching for a small-town feel, Whitehall town founders realized that sometimes your favorite room in your home is not even inside the house. With that in mind, builders will be creating unique spaces “between the homes.”
Constructed per architecturally significant guidelines, James Hardie siding and Andersen solid wood windows are among many durable and beautiful materials that will be used. Dwellings will range from low-maintenance town and twin homes priced from the low $300,000s with luxurious standard inclusions such as hardwood flooring, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances to charming cottage and courtyard homes offering first-floor living to estate and custom homes priced from the $500,000s.
Town founders expect a diverse mix of residents will walk the tree-lined streets, from young, single professionals; families with children; and seniors who enjoy the social interaction of a vibrant community. Whitehall broke ground last November and the Town Welcome Center & Design Studio opened in May. With construction of four fully furnished and decorated model homes to begin by July, expect the unveiling of a model street in October.
Mapleton is the first of seven planned villages and features a mix of housing, commercial properties and a town square that will be the site of concerts and other activities. The villages will be sited within a five-minute walk of a community center, such as a park, store or school. “Whitehall is a town for active people, a place for people who enjoy life,” DiSabatino says.
For more information, visit www.whitehallde.com.
