WILMINGTON — The MRA Group has finalized negotiations on a Marriott Residence Inn at the Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park (CRISP) campus, seeking to add a high-quality hotel to cater to potential business meetings for multi-national employers.
The 127-room hotel will be developed in partnership with Gulph Creek Hotels of Wayne, Pa., and will include food service as well as a full-service bar and meeting spaces for prospective partners at the existing campus that includes Prelude Therapeutics and the future Solenis headquarters.
“The addition of the Residence Inn is not only an amenity that benefits the CRISP campus, it also serves as a viable hotel option for the broader Wilmington area,” MRA Executive Vice President and Partner Phil Butler said in a press release. “We’re excited to break ground on the hotel and look forward to providing a high-quality experience through the built environment and operational excellence delivered by our partners at Gulph Creek Hotels.”
The Marriott Residence Inn is the latest partner to buy into the MRA Group’s vision for the 164-acre former DuPont campus just west of downtown Wilmington. In 2021, the Pennsylvania-area developer closed on the $40 million acquisition of the land and plans on investing $500 million into turning it into a research and innovation park. That aspiration was enough to lure global manufacturer Solenis to build a $35 million new research and development center and Prelude Therapeutics to sign a 13-year lease for 81,000 lab space, with the option to renew for 15 years.
The biopharmaceutical company officially became the first tenant at CRISP when it cut the ribbon on its new office last winter. Construction on Solenis’ new building continues and the MRA Group expects it to be ready for move-in by the second quarter of 2025.
With DuPont still owning and operating headquarters at the northern end of the property, the MRA Group is banking on attracting world-class scientists in biopharmaceuticals and chemical industries with the expected 780,000 square feet in about 13 laboratories.
But outside of the manufacturing sector, the MRA Group has designs to turn the CRISP into a destination employees and visitors alike could enjoy. The MRA Group said it evaluated the need for “another high-quality hotel” and saw the Residence Marriott as a key anchor for future amenities.
“We view the hotel as an important amenity for our campus which will help to attract and retain top tier multi-national employers while also providing an asset to support the surrounding community,” MRA Group Communications Manager Brendan Farrell said.
Future shared amenities include a fitness center, outdoor amphitheater, conference space, and restaurants. A daycare operated by Ducklings Early Learning Center has also been built and expects to open this spring.
The official groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for early February. The MRA Group declined to provide the cost of the hotel project.