Delaware NeuroRehab has purchased the historic Tilton Building at Fort DuPont in Delaware City and plans to convert it into the state’s first dedicated post-acute inpatient brain injury rehabilitation center, company officials said.
New site after Montchanin plans were denied
The medical group initially sought to establish the facility at the Inn at Montchanin Village & Spa but was denied by New Castle County’s Board of Adjustment. The group then acquired the two-story Tilton Building at 2546 Colter Road, a structure the seller had listed for $3.15 million. A subdivision for the property was approved by the Delaware City Council in April.
Renovation and construction work will adapt the building into a 57,000-square-foot space housing a 28-bed inpatient program. Delaware NeuroRehab says the center will serve people recovering from traumatic brain injury, strokes, neurological disorders and other acquired brain injuries. The group expects the center to open in 2027.
What the project means locally
- It will be the first comprehensive post-acute inpatient brain-injury rehabilitation facility in Delaware.
- The site reuses a historic property on the Fort DuPont campus rather than building anew.
- Construction and staffing for the center are likely to have local economic impacts in Delaware City and surrounding communities.
The Tilton Building was part of the Governor Bacon Health Center complex. Fort DuPont sits along the Delaware River and the C&D Canal and has military origins dating to the Civil War, when it was named for Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont. The state acquired the property in 1947, and it later hosted the Governor Bacon Health Center; in 1992 the site was incorporated into the state park system. Current plans for the broader 219-acre Fort DuPont campus include new housing, retail and public gathering spaces while keeping and adapting many of the old military-era structures.
Timeline and key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Property | Tilton Building, Fort DuPont (2546 Colter Road) |
| Size | 57,000 square feet |
| Beds | 28 inpatient beds |
| Listed price | $3.15 million |
| Opening target | 2027 |
Redeveloping Fort DuPont buildings has been part of a longer-standing effort to breathe new life into the waterfront campus while preserving its historic fabric. For families and patients in Delaware who need intensive, specialized rehabilitation after brain injury, the center will represent a locally based option that did not previously exist in the state.
Details about the construction schedule, staffing plans and patient referral processes were not released publicly; the medical group's spokeswoman said work will begin soon and the center is on track for a 2027 opening.
