First New Bedford hotel in 40 years unites waterfront with city

NEW BEDFORD — For 40 years — and through many failed attempts — the city's downtown has been bereft of a hotel.

On Thursday, the chain was broken as a crowd of more than 50 people gathered to celebrate the official ground-breaking for the future Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites Hotel.

"This is a symbolic hotel in many ways because it is going to unite this waterfront with this city," said Anthony Sapienza, chairman of board for the New Bedford Economic Development Council.

The hotel, which is being developed by .... [read more]

  City secures major tenant for Riverside Landing

NEW BEDFORD — Market Basket, a Tewksbury-based supermarket chain, will open its first New Bedford store on the site of the former Fairhaven Mills next year, bringing more than 500 jobs to the region, officials announced Wednesday.

The news ended months of speculation about the identity of the anchor tenant at the Fairhaven Mills site, which is now known as Riverside Landing.

"We will put forward our best foot to make... [read more]

  SouthCoast rail report touts economic gains

NEW BEDFORD — A commuter rail connection to New Bedford and Fall River will stimulate nearly $500 million annually in new economic activity and create up to 3,800 new jobs, according to a report released Wednesday by Gov. Deval Patrick.

A significant portion of that economic development — nearly $230 million annually in new business output and as many as 2,000 jobs — will be concentrated in New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton and the other communities along the southern portion of the rail corridor... [read more]

  New textile business in New Bedford bucks trend

NEW BEDFORD — Bucking the long-term decline of the region's garment industry, a new textile business opened its doors Monday.

New Bedford Tactical Gear is set to begin work this week with 15 former employees of the Eagle Industries plant that shut down earlier this summer. The company, which will be making ammunition bags for the military, aims to add another 40 workers within the next few months and possibly expand to 100 by end of the year.

"It's amazing to win this, to have a new... [read more]

  Reports of abundant young shellfish bode well for city fishery

NEW BEDFORD — The city's scallop industry received a double-dose of good news, as two scientific studies found strong scallop stocks and high numbers of young shellfish on Georges Bank.

"This is a really important resource, and it's good news when two independent surveys agree," said Kevin Stokesbury, chairman of the Department of Fisheries Oceanography at the School of Marine Science and Technology at UMass Dartmouth, which undertook one of the studies.

Using six commercial fishing vessels, the SMAST... [read more]