Downtown Wilmington is the economic and social hub for the region. With boundaries spanning from the Cape Fear River to the west, the Isabel Holmes Bridge to the north, to the Memorial Bridge to the south and 5th Avenue to the east, WDI's Mission: To promote the economic growth and development of Downtown Wilmington WDI's Vision: Downtown Wilmington is the culturally vibrant and economically prosperous center of the southeast region, and is recognized nationally for its outstanding quality of life. Downtown is home to about 880 businesses, 10,800 workers, and 2,100 residents. As a hospitality and tourism center, Wilmington also boasts an amazing 1.75-mile long riverwalk, hotels, convention and meeting space, museums, cultural facilities and one of the largest historic districts in the County. WDI has been a part of the civic infrastructure since 1977. The organization’s visionary and thoughtful approach, ability to forge key alliances and collaborations and responsiveness to constituent needs have all contributed to the growth and development of Downtown Wilmington since WDI’s inception. WDI was originally formed as D.A.R.E. (Downtown Area Revitalization Effort) in 1977 as a public-private partnership between the City of Wilmington, New Hanover County, and the private sector. Our organization has had many successes over the past 40 years. Today, the six main areas of focus for WDI are business recruitment, business retention, quality of life, developer services, fundraising and public outreach.