WILMINGTON – The management company for two of the most prominent office buildings on the northside of Rodney Square announced Friday that it is rebranding.
McConnell Johnson Real Estate, which manages the tallest building in the city at 1201 N. Market St. and the neighboring former Hercules Plaza at 1313 N. Market St., is dropping the reference to co-founder Paul McConnell while partner Scott Johnson takes the reins for the buildings’ futures.
Now known as Johnson Commercial Real Estate (JCRE), the firm has rolled out a new logo and website in conjunction with the switch.
Johnson told Delaware Business Times that the change came as his longtime partner has begun to focus more on out-of-market industrial development and increasingly his philanthropy. Meanwhile, Johnson said he remained committed to strengthening some of Wilmington’s biggest office assets.
That work began last year as Johnson spearheaded the creation of The Chancery Market food hall in 1313 North Market, adding about 10 new food options to an area of the city that had few available without a significant walk. The food hall will add outdoor seating and green space this spring under continued redevelopment of the plaza built decades ago for the long-gone chemical giant Hercules.
“We’re getting very positive views on the food and the design, which is a pretty big step. Now, like anything, you just have to get your traffic going,” he said.
The amenity buildout will help to add new faces and retain tenants at 1313 Market like TD Bank and several large law firms like Morris Nichols, Potter Anderson, Pepper Hamilton, Venable LLP and more.
JCRE also has developed a master plan for 1313 Market that includes developing an arthouse theater space in the lower atrium of the glass-enclosed building, and potentially a boutique hotel to convert some of the 530,000-square-foot building’s unused office space. While still conceptual, Johnson said they imagine it would be a limited number of rooms aimed at a “high-end customer.”
“We need to make it more mixed use. The days of the standalone corporate buildings are all gone,” he said.
