DSU, NeighborGood cuts the ribbon on new center for entrepreneurship, resources

NeighborGood and DSU partnered to cut the ribbon on a new center for resources and entrepreneurship Monday, Sept. 23. l DBT PHOTO BY JENNIFER ANTONIK

DOVER — NeighborGood Partners and Delaware State University (DSU) teamed up Monday afternoon to celebrate new beginnings and growth in downtown Dover as they cut the ribbon on their new shared space with the help of the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce.

After $2.6 million in development costs, the new 223 W. Division St. location in Dover will serve as a primary office space for NeighborGood’s Restoring Central Dover programming on the first floor with DSU’s Center for Urban Revitalization and Entrepreneurship program on the second floor, or CURE for short.

The nonprofit formerly known as NCALL will continue operating in its other locations around the state while moving a few of the staff members responsible for the organization’s Restoring Central Dover efforts to the new location.   

Karen Speakman, NeighborGood executive director, called the collaboration with DSU’s business program a “holistic approach” to the ebb and flow of community growth and welcomed the partnership.

“This building is truly a collaborative effort and holistic approach to downtown development,” she said during the event. “We are so pleased to have this building become a reality. You know it takes a village to raise a child? Well, it took a lot of wonderful partners to make NeighborGood Center a reality.”

For Dr. Michael Casson, dean of DSU’s College of Business, the opportunity to work on the business development behind the scenes in downtown Dover also represented a “full 360” experience for him personally as he described growing up in the streets near the new center.

He and his team, along with DSU students, are ready for the next stage of redevelopment in the downtown area with the help of the collaborative efforts of NeighborGood Partners, he added.

“Philosophy states that talent is distributed equally, but opportunity is not,” Casson said. “What is clear is that if we are to break the cycle of poverty in our community, in my community, we must empower its members with the requisite knowledge, resources and financial capital necessary for our community to grow. . . You don’t have to look outside of your community for talent, talent is everywhere. . . there are acres of diamonds right here in our community. You just have to harvest them, and DSU’s CURE is ready to harvest.”

The CURE Program, which operates as a partnership between DSU and NeighborGood Partners, was awarded $1 million in federal Community Project Funding in June of 2022 to establish the program in Dover’s Downtown Development District which is a designated opportunity zone.