New Bedford Economic Development Council

Business park projected to add 500 jobs in three years

The growing New Bedford Business Park will create another 500 jobs within the next three years, the director predicted Wednesday at its annual meeting.

Since the start of the recession more than two years ago, employers at the business park added 550 jobs despite the economic woes, said Thomas G. Davis, executive director of the Greater New Bedford Industrial Foundation, which manages the park.

Looking ahead, expansions by existing companies and the arrival of new companies will increase the total number of employees at the park from 4,500 to 5,000, Davis told a gathering of business people and elected officials at Lighthouse Masonry Inc. in the park.

"I'm very optimistic about the future job growth and business growth both in the New Bedford Business Park, as well as Energy Park," a development in Dartmouth that the foundation also markets, he said.

Since Jan. 1, 2008, 10 new companies moved into the park, and four existing business expanded, according to Davis' presentation... [read more]

Editorial: New Bedford’s back to shipping

Once the wharves of New Bedford were one of the great centers of American commerce. The whaling fleet was based there, providing lamp oil to a burgeoning nation, and sleek clipper ships offered the quickest passage to the West Coast gold mines and China, via Cape Horn. The whalers started to go away with the refining of petroleum for kerosene in the decade before the Civil War, and the clipper-ship era ended at about the same time with the advent of ocean-going steamships.

For years, as the city became one of the leading U.S. fishing ports, no freighters tied up at New Bedford. The harbor’s rebirth as a commercial hub dates to 2001, with the complicated redredging of the port’s PCB-contaminated shipping channels. They had become so silted that ships were frequently obliged to lighten cargoes at other ports before entering New Bedford Harbor to avoid running aground.

But this year, 28 freighters are scheduled to dock at the Whaling City’s piers, many unloading produce from Africa and South America. Because of the fishing industry, New Bedford has big cold-storage capacity... [read more]

City's brownfield assessment sites ranked for economic development potential

Members of the City of New Bedford Brownfields Task Force unveiled a list Thursday ranking some potentially dirty sites for federal environmental assessment dollars.
The properties are brownfields, which means — by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's definition — they contain or may contain a pollutant, contaminant or other hazardous substance that makes their reuse, expansion or redevelopment more difficult. The state Department of Environmental Protection doesn't formally define brownfields, but they're usually abandoned, former commercial or industrial properties, according to Scott Alfonse, a task force member and the director of the city's Department of Environmental Stewardship.

The land parcels, in order of descending priority, include the former Goodyear property on Orchard Street, a portion of the Cliftex lot by the Acushnet River, the former site of Payne Cutlery on Phillips Avenue and Reliable Truss on River Road. Rounding out the list are a vacant lot on Walnut and Pleasant streets, city-owned land on Union Street and the Dawson Brewery on Brook Street.

"In any city of the density like the city of New Bedford, open space is scarce," said Matthew Morrissey, a task force member and executive director of the New Bedford Economic Development Council. Developing that space can create jobs, he said, but "we can't look at these sites ... as real economic assets to the city unless we understand, at a fairly granular level, what exists in terms of pollutants in the soil."... [read more]

The 33rd New Bedford Half Marathon—Classic Race in this Historic Seaport City is Again USATF-NE Championship

In New Bedford, Massachusetts they “Embrace the Race”. It will run March 21 at 11:00 a.m. and is one of the best New England has to offer, indeed one of the best in the USA. The New Bedford Half Marathon is the second of seven races in the USATF--New England Grand Prix. Why? “We cater to runners who expect quality and respect.”

New Bedford is a terrific location for a race with scenic harbor views, a closed course that is spectator friendly, historic seaport and structures, excellent amenities, and a wonderful racing legacy after 33 years. But two things make this venerable event really special—the way the entire city embraces the race and makes runners and spectators alike feel like welcome guests; and the terrific attention to detail by the race organizers, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of New Bedford http://www.friendlysons.net/ who have done a great job in presenting this gem of New England racing.

It will be the New England Half Marathon Championship for individuals and teams, the second race in the eight-race USATF-NE Grand Prix, running a counter-clockwise loop through this historic port on Buzzards Bay. New Bedford’s seafaring heritage is fascinating at any time, and especially with this course, running near the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park, museums, and overlooking the harbor, home to one of the most productive... [read more]

Kerry, Frank back emphasis on New Bedford harbor in use of trust money

Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Barney Frank have thrown their support behind the city’s applications to the New Bedford Harbor trust, arguing more emphasis should be placed on projects in the harbor and its immediate vicinity.

Kerry and Frank laid out their case in a letter sent last week to officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

“Contamination in New Bedford Harbor has adversely impacted many natural aspects of the harbor environment, as well as how residents utilize the harbor and surrounding areas,” wrote Kerry and Frank.

“We (are) concerned that of the $19.1 million of the funds expended from the trust to date, only about a third has gone to projects in New Bedford or the harbor.”
In their letter, Kerry and Frank argue this funding pattern appears to deviate from the Trustee Council’s original restoration plan, which defined the New Bedford Harbor area as the Acushnet River and its watershed from the New Bedford Harbor Reservoir through the harbor to the outermost fishing closure line.

According to the letter, the council’s plan also stated that the emphasis for restoration should be placed on areas most affected by the PCB... [read more]