Civic News

‘Unlock the Block’ pitch competition aims to draw businesses to downtown Dover

The initiative offers step-by-step support to local entrepreneurs.

Dover has a new initiative for small business owners. (Video screenshot)

Dover wants your business. Your small business, specifically.

The Delaware Division of Small Business and the City of Dover launched the Unlock the Block initiative this week, an effort to attract small businesses to the capital city with a pitch competition to fill four vacant commercial spaces.

In addition to being offered a lease for one of the spaces, the winning businesses will receive cash incentives and benefits such as consulting and technical assistance.

The properties are 1 W. Lookerman St., 204 Lookerman St.155 S. Bradford St. and 147 S. Governors Ave.

The initiative’s aim is to attract veteran business owners looking to expand and home-based businesses looking for their first brick-and-mortar location.

Unlock the Block is currently recruiting prospective tenants and guiding them through an application process that will end with a pitch competition in late July/early August. Winning tenants could move in as soon as mid-September.

If you’re interested, fill out the Expression of Interest form here.

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

19 tech and entrepreneurship events to check out before the holidays

EDA officials are ‘hopeful’ Tech Hubs program will live on under Trump

AI is being used in more and more of the hiring process, especially at high-volume companies

This Week in Jobs: 27 hot open roles to warm up a frosty career

Technically Media