New Bedford Developments

Ron Newman said:
But what's it like for the people who used to live there? Did they find equally good housing elsewhere in the city, or are they now walking the streets homeless?
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They had been mostly relocated long ago. The building was in terrible condition (walls literally crumbling) and some staggeringly high percentage of the units were vacant (80% or more if I remember correctly). Not many people are being displaced. In fact, I think most will have space in the mandatory 10% of this project set aside for low-income housing.

We're not talking about booting poor folks to accommodate gentrification. We're talking about bettering a building that was crumbling and nearly empty. It's a good rehab.
 
Actually, the Regency was constructed as luxury apartments in the 80's. It had a gourmet deli and fitness club on the ground level, as well as covered garage parking. The top floor was offices and function space. The middle contained the residences. Over the years it didnt keep current and lost tenants. It did have a required percentage of affordable units but it was never low income housing.
 
^Really? I was almost positive that Mass Housing owned it in recent years and let it fall into disrepair.
 
I am pretty sure of that. In fact before buying a house I looked at an apartment there about 2004 and it was 1200/mo for a 2 bedroom.
 
NEW BEDFORD - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - The City of New Bedford and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced details of an informal design competition for a new station off Route 18 to be known as Whale�s Tooth. The multi-modal station will be built as part of the South Coast Rail project and may host a new local and intercity bus terminal. The announcement was made in New Bedford City Hall by Mayor Scott W. Lang and Kristina Egan, Director of South Coast Rail, MassDOT.



"As one of the largest stations on the planned South Coast Rail line, Whale's Tooth station is expected to generate millions of dollars in new economic development," said Transportation Secretary Jeffrey B. Mullan, "The Patrick-Murray Administration is happy to work with the city and its residents to create a great place for people and for transportation"



"The City is looking for inspirational designs that are consistent with the history, character, and feel of New Bedford," said Mayor Lang. "We want the station to incorporate green building features and reflect the character of nearby neighborhoods, as well as the city�s plans for the future. We have vibrant art and education communities in the region and want to gather ideas from these talented groups of people."



"In anticipation of the South Coast Rail project, the MBTA is pleased to be working with the community in seeking innovative ideas for the Whale�s Tooth Station," said Rich Davey, General Manager of the MBTA and Transit and Rail Administrator for MassDOT. "We hope residents of the South Coast - students, residents, designers and artists - will bring their visions and ideas to the contest."



In addition to holding a design contest, the City, MassDOT, and the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority have launched an initiative to identify ways to improve local bus service and provide service to the Whale�s Tooth station. Customer surveys are underway to gather information from riders and the larger public. Recommendations will be released next year in the first comprehensive report ever developed for the bus authority.



The contest poster and background information about the station site are posted on the project website, www.mass.gov/southcoastrail. Submissions are due on December 20, 2010, and must include one or two drawings or renderings and a description and rationale for the design.



South Coast Rail will restore passenger rail service from South Station in Boston to the South Coast Cities of Fall River and New Bedford. It will address long-standing transportation inequity, encourage economic development, foster job creation and connect people with affordable housing options, while protecting the natural environment. The project is guided by Sustainable Development principles and includes a regional smart growth corridor plan. Whale�s Tooth would be one of the new stations providing service to Downtown New Bedford.





















For transportation news and updates visit MassDOT at our website: www.mass.gov/massdot, blog: www.mass.gov/blog/transportation, or follow MassDOT on twitter at www.twitter.com/massdot
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http://www.eot.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=content/releases/pr112310_whale&sid=release
 
^Just figured I'd post an update since it's been nearly 3 months since the last one.

-The finalists for the train station contest have been selected and are on display at the Whaling Museum. I have only seen one. Damon May, a Dartmouth architect, has submitted this design which is a finalist. It was an effort to utilize the design of the former New Bedford passenger terminal while utilizing modern technology (i.e. solar panals on the roof).

NewBedfordTrainStation.jpg


I like it. Rather, it's suitable for the city size and function. It's not South Station, but I don't think it's fair to expect that. It's more attractive than Providence's station.

-There is significant progress in the effort to connect Fall River and New Bedford by bike path. This is a small segment of a larger project which would connect and extend some of the existing bike paths to form a massive, interconnected trail connecting Providence to Provincetown. Fairhaven has a big bike path already and the plan is to connect that through Mattapoisett,Marion and Wareham to reach Bourne where it would link up with the existing Cape Cod trails. The New Bedford/Fall River connection could link into both Fairhaven and Rhode Island's East Bay trail (which already extends from Bristol to East Providence). In Providence, there's been progress in connecting the East Bay Trail to the Blackstone Trail which would link Bristol to Worcester via bike trail.

Quite a network, but I am unsure of how they plan to cross the major waterways (Taunton River, Canal, Blackstone River, etc). The Taunton River seems like the easy solution. The existing Brightman St. Bridge is going to be out of service to vehicular traffic when the new span opens this spring. It would make sense to allow bikes and pedestrians to use it. You could probably make room on the relatively sparsely used Henderson Expressway Bridge in Providence for bikes to cross the Blackstone River.You'd simply have to extend the existing path about a mile further up the river and designate an area on the bridge (hopefully with a jersey barrier separation or something). It empties out into the East Side not far from Blackstone BLVD which is already well marked with Bike Lanes. A better route would be along the riverbank. We'll see. Still, that leaves the Cape Cod Canal as the biggest hurdle.

-The Victoria Lofts mill conversion is near completion. Units will be set for occupancy in the next few weeks. Here is more info: http://victoriariverside.com/index.html

- Phase II is about to begin at the old Fairhaven Mills location. Phase II will include riverfront park space (including a community boathouse) and some office and retail. Market Basket is the anchor tenant in phase I and has done outstanding business.


Finally, New Bedford was named one of 12 Distinctive Destinations for 2011 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. A nice honor. New Bedford joins the ranks of Burlington VT (2003), Providence (2007), Portland (2003), Portsmouth NH (2008) and Lowell (2000) as New England cities that have received the honor in the past.
 
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I like that station, too. A lot, actually. Is it for Amtrak?

The Victoria townhomes look to be a good idea, but no pictures inside, just floorplans ( I am very visual).
 
Patrick said:
I like that station, too. A lot, actually. Is it for Amtrak?

The Victoria townhomes look to be a good idea, but no pictures inside, just floorplans ( I am very visual).
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Commuter Rail
 
Congratulations on the Distinctive Destination honor. I've never been to New Bedford, but I'd like to visit sometime soon.

The commuter rail station looks nice--am I correct in understanding that it's an existing building that the architect is proposing to renovate and reuse? It's a shame that so many similar sized cities have lost their beautiful, old rail stations. If New Bedford has the opportunity to reuse theirs, I think it would be a great idea to at least very seriously consider doing so.

Do you have a link to the design or any other info on the commuter rail station?
 
Patrick said:
I like that station, too. A lot, actually. Is it for Amtrak?

The Victoria townhomes look to be a good idea, but no pictures inside, just floorplans ( I am very visual).
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The station is for Commuter Rail to/from Boston. I don't see NB being on an Amtrak line anytime soon. There are efforts to restore the New York City- Cape Cod rail link which would be a good opportunity for New Bedford to make a push to get an Amtrak stop. However, it's likely that it will more feasible to for Amtrak to retain their northern route through Taunton (missing NB). We'll see. A commuter rail stop is more useful as an economic driver anyway (in this location).

I'm right there with you on the visual thing. I can't find pictures of even a model unit anywhere. I'm guessing they're probably behind schedule. It's the same group who renovated Wamsutta and is doing another renovation in the South End. I'm sure they'll be nice. I'm not thrilled with the location though. A bit too far from downtown for my tastes. Acushnet Ave. is close enough, but I'd rather be closer to the city center if I had that type of rental.Better than a vacant mill.

FrankLloydMike said:
Congratulations on the Distinctive Destination honor. I've never been to New Bedford, but I'd like to visit sometime soon.

The commuter rail station looks nice--am I correct in understanding that it's an existing building that the architect is proposing to renovate and reuse? It's a shame that so many similar sized cities have lost their beautiful, old rail stations. If New Bedford has the opportunity to reuse theirs, I think it would be a great idea to at least very seriously consider doing so.

Do you have a link to the design or any other info on the commuter rail station?
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New Bedford is worth a visit. I think the "Distinctive Destination" thing is awarded to cities that have preserved their historic character well. New Bedford has holes, but the downtown core and surrounding historic residential neighborhoods are very much in tact (part of downtown is a national historic park). Very pretty. It's a nice honor to be recognized for their preservation efforts. Good peers on that list.

The commuter rail station (that rendering, anyway) is a NEW structure that is based on the old one. The old one was a nice Victorian one (I think there's a photo one page back in this thread) that was demolished for Route 18 (one of NB's scars). I like the idea of basing the new one on the old one. It's too bad the old one isn't there to renovate.

Unfortunately, I don't have any more info on the station. I think the results came out just last week and I've got nothing but that photo which was lifted from a Standard Times blog entry. I'll try to get some more info and post it.
 
Lrfox, congrats to New Bedford for it's well deserved recognition! Positive press and accolades go a long way in shifting opinions not only locally but also nationally when it comes to your city's image. Go New Bedford!
 
^Thanks. I hope it helps make the people that live there realize that they've got a good thing going!
 
I think the trend is toward revitalization of these types of cities, anyway, so if they don't realize it, the yuppies who can't afford Boston will. Gentrification is likely to turn poorer urban centers into exclusive zones, it seems. Some places this has already happened, and the poor are now the ones living in the suburbs. Anything like this happening there yet?
 
^On a small scale. Newer upscale residences are being constructed downtown. The tallest building in the city was recently reclad renovated and turned into high end condos and apartments. NB's suburbs are mostly very attractive seaside resort towns complete with seaside mansions and the like (Dartmouth, Westport, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett). The suburbs to the North of NB (Lakeville, Freetown, etc) are essentially part of Metro Boston (Lakeville's on the Commuter Rail and Freetown will be) There are only a few areas in these towns where the poor can go. It's not as easy to relocate them as it is in, say, Western Mass.

I think when Commuter Rail service starts rolling through, it'll happen more. I mean, the city is on the water, has access to great beaches and ferry and commercial air service to Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cuttyhunk. Not to mention a dense, historic core with all sorts of shops and restaurants. It's screaming for yuppies. I just hope it doesn't lose some of the character that makes it unique. NB is a gritty city, it needs to retain some of that.
 
Would a Providence - Fall River - New Bedford commuter rail line be possible? Are the cities connected by rail at all? Are their economies interconnected enough that this would be worthwhile?
 
palindrome said:
Would a Providence - Fall River - New Bedford commuter rail line be possible? Are the cities connected by rail at all? Are their economies interconnected enough that this would be worthwhile?
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There's a line between Fall River and New Bedford, and Fall River to Providence has no connection, but one could easily be linked to a former line just over the border in Bristol, RI.

I'd rather see Lowell-Lawrence-Haverhill though, and that wouldn't require messy interstate agency collaboration.
 
palindrome said:
Would a Providence - Fall River - New Bedford commuter rail line be possible? Are the cities connected by rail at all? Are their economies interconnected enough that this would be worthwhile?
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I think they COULD be connected, but I see it being difficult due to geographic issues (the Blackstone and Taunton Rivers being the big ones) and costs to build bridges and upgrade lines. I don't know if it's worthwhile at this point. If service to Boston is successful then it may be a possibility.

I agree that Haverhill, Lowell and Lawrence would probably be easier. They're closer together and I see the three being more of a close-knit cluster of urban areas than New Bedford-Fall River-Providence.
 
If you're going to connect Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill you may as well go on to Newburyport too.
 
^Right. And If NB were to be connected to PVD, I'd like to see it as part of a Cape Cod- NYC service (they used to run one, but it went through Taunton).
 
New Bedford's population increased to just over 95,000 as of the 2010 Census. One of only a handful of cities in New England that saw growth.

NEW BEDFORD ? U.S. Census figures released today show that New Bedford gained 1.39 percent in population in the last decade, to 95,072, placing it sixth in the state in terms of population.
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Full Story
 
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