New Bedford, Massachusetts
Approximately 100,000 of the 350,000 residents of the Buzzard’s Bay watershed live in the historically industrial coastal city of New Bedford. New Bedford and the surrounding communities have developed a Regional Resource Restoration Master Plan to mitigate sprawl by cleaning up and redeveloping their brownfields for a range of purposes, from regional transportation service facilities to open space to mixed uses.
Due to former industry, New Bedford’s harbor is contaminated with PCBs and much of the waterfront includes underutilized brownfield sites. New Bedford is undertaking a brownfields clean up and reuse initiative which, in combination with improvements in marine transportation and tourism, support economic diversification and environmental restoration. Tourism investments include establishment of the New Bedford National Historic Park, a new whaling museum, and plans for the New Bedford Oceanarium on a waterfront site. Marine transportation improvements will allow New Bedford to serve as a port for barge feeder service, cruise ships, and passenger and freight to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
The City of New Bedford, in partnership with the New Bedford Redevelopment Authority (NBRA), is working to transform a former railroad depot site (approximately 30 acres) into a state-of-the-art regional intermodal transportation center. When completed, this center will provide direct links to Interstate 195, Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) bus service, CSX freight rail service, and Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) commuter service. It will also provide 1,500 linear feet of waterside bulkhead with rail access and 30 foot water depths capable of accommodating commercial maritime. The project will also include the construction of the 30,000 square foot New Bedford Intermodal Center to house the SRTA headquarters and main bus terminal, an MBTA commuter rail station, and space for retail shops and services. This brownfield redevelopment project, when completed, will serve as a centerpiece of the city’s revitalization efforts and as an economic engine that will benefit the entire region. These public benefits include, but are not limited to, the creation of jobs and economic opportunities, remediation of environmental contamination, development of critical regional transportation infrastructure for the 21st century, and creation of open space.
This infill development is reducing pressures on undeveloped greenfields and providing the residents of the region with affordable housing opportunities in a livable community where services can be easily accessed using public transportation or a walk through the neighborhood.