People to Watch: Gregory Pettinaro

Gregory Pettinaro with his father and company founder Verino Pettinaro | PHOTO COURTESY OF PETTINARO CO.

Gregory Pettinaro
CEO, Pettinaro Co.

This year’s pandemic has not been kind to the commercial real estate business, as it caused firms to reassess cash flows and redesign workflows around new social distancing guidelines. In Delaware, those challenges haven’t slowed down the pipeline of projects, however, as developers got newfound time to devote to project planning.

One developer to watch in 2021 is Gregory Pettinaro, CEO of the namesake company, who will be breaking ground on two large projects near Wilmington next year.

The first may be one of the most-awaited developments by residents in years as Pettinaro begins construction on Barley Mill Plaza near the intersection of Route 141 and Lancaster Pike, which will be anchored by Delaware’s first Wegmans Food Market. The high-end specialty grocer had been sought by residents and officials alike for years when Pettinaro was able to finally get them to sign on. The 56-acre development will include a mix of retail, office and more than 100 residential units at the site of the former DuPont campus.

Just a few miles west of Barley Mill, Pettinaro will also be breaking ground on a 258-unit development at the former Hercules Country Club, ending a years-long saga of whether the project would be realized. The new community will feature 100 townhouses and 158 single-family homes, built out over a period of about five years with the first homes occupied next year.

Gregory Pettinaro told Delaware Business Times this year that he believed the Barley Mill development will help his firm find buyers for the community at the former golf course.

“I think both properties kind of complement each other,” he said.