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Prominent state agency to
assist New Bedford on waterfront
By Jack Spillane Standard-Times staff writer
 NEW
BEDFORD — A state planning and finance agency that
specializes in spurring economic development in
difficult environments has agreed to assist in the
development of the city's long-struggling waterfront.
Mass Development, a quasi-public agency created in 1994,
will design an economic development plan for an area
that runs roughly from the old Aerovox factory in the
North End to the NStar building near the downtown.
The plan — which will be designed to complement various
city plans including the master plan, harbor development
plan, downtown plan, the Route 18 plan and others — will
focus on Acushnet River areas that are considered key to
the future economic development of the city.
Among those target areas are the former Aerovox and
Cliftex mills; the Fairhaven Mills; the waterfront area
of Hicks Logan; the state pier and the former NStar
plant.
The agency will also study the overall economy of New
Bedford, especially the maritime economy.
Matthew Morrissey, executive director of the Greater New
Bedford Economic Development Council, said the plan has
been in the discussion phase for about a year.
"It is very exciting," he said, describing Mass
Development (or the Massachusetts Development Finance
Agency) as the premier development agency in the state.
It is an agency that has access to large pools of
capital as well as connections with the most important
state agencies and private businesses, he said.
A memorandum of understanding is expected to be executed
between the EDC and Mass Development in the near future.
Roughly $100,000 in Mass Development staff and
consultant assistance is envisioned for the planning
effort.
The quasi-state agency also has the capacity to grant
tax-exempt bonds and low-interest loans. It has won
plaudits for its redevelopment of the former Fort Devens
area in central Massachusetts and the Leverett
Saltonstall state office building in Boston.
Mr. Morrissey described Mass Development's interest in
the city as a great opportunity.
"They believe the city has the right leadership and
basic assets that rival any city in the commonwealth,"
he said.
Richard Henderson, an executive vice president for real
estate with Mass Development, said the city has a great
waterfront and a significant collection of historic
buildings that make it attractive for investment.
"We do think there's a real opportunity here to make a
real difference," he said.
Mass Development is a so-called "double bottom line"
agency — it often subsidizes difficult urban investments
with its earnings from other projects.
It felt the city could benefit from its ability to
coordinate ongoing municipal planning in areas like
Hicks Logan, Route 18 and the downtown where issues like
traffic and compatible uses will be important, he said.
The city needs to keep its planning efforts working
together, "to make sure they're speaking to each other
and communicating with each other," he said.
"Out in Springfield, they called us their deep bench,"
Mr. Henderson said of his agency's redevelopment efforts
in the western Massachusetts city with a similar
demographic profile to New Bedford.
Mayor Scott W. Lang said the city this year has reached
out to both Mass Development and the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology for assistance with economic
development planning.
Mass Development has already assisted the city in the
development of the request for proposals at Fairhaven
Mills, the attempts to convince Revere Copper and Brass
to temporarily keep its plant open and the harbor master
plan, he said.
"I'm excited about the partnership with them," he said.
"I think we're building good relationships with planners
that have tremendous planning expertise."
New Bedford is seen as one of the most promising urban
areas in the state, and Mass Development has the ability
to capitalize on that potential, Mr. Morrissey
contended. But the city is limited in the size of its
planning department and financial capacity and is in
need of assistance in both areas.
"The kind of opportunities New Bedford has for the
future exceed some of its resources," he said.
The city is in need of a solid economic development
study of the multiplier effects of development along the
waterfront; how to build a diversified economy that
doesn't depend on one single industry like the textiles
or whaling; and ways to capitalize on the emerging
spin-off economies of fishing, alternative energy,
marine science, medical devices, bio-tech and creativity
industries.
"They'll provide opportunities for us to better
understand what targets we need to focus on as we build
this sector," he said of Mass Development and the
waterfront.
New Bedford, in the past, has not done the planning that
allows it to capitalize on its own resources, Mr.
Morrissey argued.
Mass Development's efforts will lead to re-zonings that
will prevent bad planning like the City Council voting
to demolish one of the largest mills in the city with
only a brief, nonprofessional analysis, he said.
He was categorizing the City Council vote last week
allowing the owner of one of the largest waterfront
mills to tear the building down.
"These things won't happen again with strategic
planning," Mr. Morrissey said.
Contact Jack Spillane at
jspillane@s-t.com
Publication date: June 27, 2007 |
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