DELAWARE STATE REVIEW BOARD FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION

ATTENDEES:

State Review Board Members:

Name	Attendance
Dr. Susanne Fox	In Attendance
Anthony Johnson	In Attendance
Daniel Bond	In Attendance
Laura Keeley	Not in Attendance
Ivan Henderson	In Attendance
Dr. RJ Chandler	Not in Attendance
Flavia Rutkosky	In Attendance
Carol Quigley	In Attendance
Andrea Anderson	In Attendance
Ryan Grover	In Attendance

Division/State Historic Preservation Office Staff:

Name	Title
Suzanne Savery	Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs                                                                                                                                Director and State Historic Preservation Officer
Gwen Davis	Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer
Emily Whaley	National Register Coordinator and Architectural Historian
Daniel Citron	HCA Sites Manager (Zoom host)
Jenifer Anderson-Reno	Research Center Manager
Sarah Carr	Archaeologist
Hannah Lewis	Archaeologist

Note, due to the availability of some participants, the agenda followed a different sequence than the posted agenda for this meeting.

I. WELCOME:

This hybrid meeting, with an anchor site location at the Delaware Center for Material Culture, at 1351 West North Street in Dover, Delaware 19901 was called to order at 10:06 a.m. by Chair Fox.

Dr. Fox informed attendees that the meeting was being recorded and addressed housekeeping rules. She requested that Board members raise their hand to ask a question or make a comment and encouraged the public to use the Zoom chat function to ask questions and/or share comments during Q&A segments.

II. INTRODUCTIONS:

Dr. Fox invited Board members to introduce themselves and asked Ms. Suzanne Savery, Director and State Historic Preservation Officer, to introduce herself and staff members in attendance.

III. PRESENTATION OF NATIONAL REGISTER CERTIFICATES: COMPTON PARK APARTMENTS

Ms. Savery presented the property owner with a National Register certificate for Compton Park Apartments in Wilmington. This property was listed in the National Register on November 1, 2024, under Criteria A and C for its significance associated with community planning and development and architecture.

Note, the presentation of Independence Mall certificate was moved to later in the meeting. Business matters were presented next.

VI. REVIEW OF BOARD MEETING MINUTES: OCTOBER 22, 2025

Dr. Fox asked if there were any changes to the draft October 22, 2025, Meeting Minutes. With no changes to the Minutes, she called for a motion. Mr. Bond made a motion to accept the October 22, 2025, Meeting Minutes as presented. Ms. Rutkosky seconded the motion. The motion passed with a voice vote.

Dr. Fox asked if there were any public questions or comments. Mr. Citron responded that there were no public questions or comments.

V. STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION PLAN UPDATE

Dr. Fox asked Ms. Gwen Davis to provide a brief update on the State Historic Preservation Plan. Ms. Davis referenced her previous presentation and discussion during the October State Review Board meeting, which outlined efforts to engage public partners for their input in the State Plan for Historic Preservation. Ms. Davis explained that the State Plan for Historic Preservation is a statewide plan, not just a plan for the State Historic Preservation Office. She further stated that the purpose of the Plan is to set a framework for preservation goals and strategies for the next five years.

Ms. Davis explained that a draft is not yet ready for State Review Board review. She stated that the State Historic Preservation Office is continuing to engage key stakeholders and plans to submit a draft for review in the next several months. Ms. Davis noted that the draft will be submitted to the State Review Board and the National Park Service, for review and comment simultaneously. She explained that the State Review Board and National Park Service will have 45 days to review and provide comments on the draft document. The current goal is to have the final Plan prepared by mid-2026.

Dr. Fox asked the Board for questions or comments. The Board did not have questions or comments for Ms. Davis.  

IV. NATIONAL REGISTER NOMINATION: BANK OF DELAWARE BUILDING 300 DELAWARE AVENUE, WILMINGTON  

Dr. Fox introduced Ms. Nika Faulkner, Project Coordinator with Heritage Consulting Group. 

Ms. Faulkner presented the National Register nomination for the Bank of Delaware Building in Wilmington.

Dr. Fox thanked Ms. Faulkner for her presentation.

Nomination Motion

Dr. Fox called for a nomination motion. Mr. Bond began to provide comments on the nomination. Dr. Fox requested a motion for the nomination before discussion. Mr. Bond made a motion to approve the National Register nomination for the Bank of Delaware Building. Ms. Rutkosky seconded the motion.

Comments/Questions/Suggestions

Dr. Fox called for comments and questions from the Board.

Mr. Bond stated that the nomination was very interesting and stated that he believed the property was eligible for listing in the National Register under Criteria A and C. Mr. Bond spoke about additional research he did on the architect associated with the subject property. Mr. Bond also spoke about the importance of speculative office buildings in the second half of the twentieth century.

Mr. Bond briefly discussed exterior modifications to the building, primarily on the first floor of the building. Mr. Bond then discussed how the building retains components of a typical modern office building from the period of significance.

Ms. Quigley stated that she appreciated the nomination and thanked Ms. Faulkner for the presentation. Ms. Quigley spoke about her initial skepticism but then offered her view that the nomination made a compelling argument for significance. Ms. Quigley suggested moving discussion associated with Delaware’s incorporation regulation under the commerce subheading rather than the architecture subheading.

Ms. Faulkner thanked Ms. Quigley for her comments and suggestions.

Mr. Grover spoke about the similarities between this building and pop cultural references. Mr. Grover asked if the architect considered a specific viewshed when designing the building. Ms. Faulkner responded, stating that the viewshed and design was likely more influenced by the Bank of Delaware and their interest in portraying themselves as a forward-thinking company. She stated that she only found a couple of historic photographs from the interior of office spaces. Ms. Faulkner also spoke about the views of the city due to the original floor to ceiling windows in the building.

Mr. Grover thanked Ms. Faulkner for her response and asked the potential for cemeteries near the building, given the presence of a former church on the lot. Ms. Faulkner referenced a slide from her presentation, showing 1951 and 1989 Sanborn Fire Insurance maps. She explained that given the location of the church and other surrounding buildings, she thought it was unlikely for a cemetery to be present.

Mr. Johnson thanked Ms. Faulkner for her wonderful presentation. Mr. Johnson stated that like Ms. Quigley, he was also skeptical at first, but the nomination made a convincing argument for National Register eligibility. Mr. Johnson stated that he appreciated the discussion relating to the relationship between the Bank of Delaware and local business community and their contribution to early developments associated with credit cards.

Mr. Johnson asked about discussion of urban renewal in the nomination and referenced an apartment building, shown in one of the presentation slides. Mr. Johnson asked about the demographics of the population displaced when the Bank of Delaware building was constructed. Ms. Faulkner responded, stating that she did not do census research for this particular project, but generally lower income families and people of color were the most likely to have been displaced during urban renewal efforts.

Ms. Rutkosky asked about the circular penthouse associated with the building, asking specifically who lived in the penthouse. Ms. Faulkner clarified that the penthouse was used as office space, historically housing the Board Room. Ms. Rutkosky thanked Ms. Faulkner for the clarification.  

Ms. Anderson complimented Ms. Faulkner’s work on the nomination and presentation. She stated that she appreciated the financial history associated with the property. Ms. Faulkner thanked Ms. Anderson for her comment and spoke briefly about additional research she conducted associated with early “touch tone” technology, noting the close proximity of the subject property to the Bell Telephone (later AT&T) building.

Public Comments/Questions

Dr. Fox asked for comments or questions from the public.

Mr. Citron stated that Jenifer Anderson-Reno, State Historic Preservation Office Research Center Manager, wrote that a poor-quality photo of the former church on the site exists in the Research Center.

Final Motion and Voting

Dr. Fox called for a roll call vote on the nomination.

Roll Call Vote	Yes	No	Abstained / Did not vote
Dr. Susanne Fox	X
Anthony Johnson	X
Daniel Bond	X
Laura Keeley	Absent	Absent
Ivan Henderson			X
Dr. RJ Chandler	Absent	Absent
Flavia Rutkosky	X
Carol Quigley	X
Andrea Anderson	X
Ryan Grover	X

The motion passed with seven yes votes, two absences, and one abstention.  

PRESENTATION OF NATIONAL REGISTER CERTIFICATES:  INDEPENDENTENCE MALL

The National Register certificate presentation continued with Independence Mall.

Ms. Savery presented the property owner with a National Register certificate for Independence Mall near Wilmington. This property was listed in the National Register on June 3, 2025, under Criterion A for its significance associated with architecture and commerce.

Ms. Rosanna Richards, property owner of Independence Mall, spoke about the historic significance of the property, discussing her father’s inspiration for the mall and preservation efforts associated with the property.

VII. PUBLIC QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

Dr. Fox asked for comments or questions from the public.

Mr. Citron reported that there were no comments or questions on Zoom.

VIII. NEXT SCHEDULED STATE REVIEW BOARD MEETING

Dr. Fox asked Ms. Whaley for an update on the next State Review Board meeting. Ms. Whaley reported there would likely be a meeting scheduled in April 2026 and that she would reach out to the Board regarding the next Board meeting soon.

Mr. Citron reported that there was an attendee with their hand up. Mr. Citron unmuted the attendee, Mr. Braeden Peterson. Mr. Peterson introduced himself and thanked the group for hosting the meeting. He explained that he was using the meeting for a school project at Wilmington University.

Ms. Davis thanked Mr. Peterson for attending the meeting and encouraged him to reach out to the office as he worked through his studies.

X. AJOURNMENT

Dr. Fox called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Rutkosky made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Bond seconded the motion. The motion passed. Dr. Fox announced the meeting adjourned.  

Respectfully Submitted,

Emily Whaley, National Register Coordinator  

State Historic Preservation Office

The minutes of this meeting are not intended to be a verbatim record of the topics that were presented or discussed.  They are written for the use of the Board members, HCA staff, and the public in supplementing their personal notes and recall for presentations.

Information provided to the public for participating online:

You are invited to a Zoom webinar:

When: Feb 25, 2026 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic: Delaware State Review Board for Historic Preservation

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