With a $1.3 million state grant for infrastructure improvements outside the Fairhaven Mills redevelopment project, Dickinson Development Corp. and New Bedford city officials last week got some help for what they’re calling a “gateway” into the city.
“It’s a very difficult area – these old, failing mill buildings,” said company President Mark Dickinson. “Yet it’s a good location.”
Since May 2007, Dickinson has been doing design work on the mixed-use project, which will include office, commercial and retail space. Demolition started this spring. The Quincy-based firm bought the property and development rights from the city in April 2007, with a $500,000 bid.
Construction could start in about a year, he said. The build-out cost for the 15-acre parcel is expected to be about $40 million, Dickinson said.
The development will be part rehabilitation and part new construction, said Dickinson. One of the existing buildings, a “burnt-out mill building, partially collapsed,” couldn’t be saved and is now being torn down, he said.
The plans, which are nearing completion, include five buildings that will be used for office and commercial space. A waterfront boathouse will be renovated by the development team but owned by the city, he said. The property isn’t in great shape, but Dickinson’s firm has experience cleaning up contaminated parcels.
A few years ago, Dickinson worked to turn a former landfill in Reading, Mass., into The Crossing at Walkers Brook, a $90-million shopping center that attracted large retailers like Home Depot and Jordan’s Furniture.
On the Fairhaven Mills site, there are buried oil drums, he said, but not too many other problems.
“It’s not so contaminated that it can’t be redeveloped,” Dickinson said. “It’s just a cost. Some people shy away from them because of that.”
For Fairhaven Mills, the tenants will likely be small-box retailers. The 125,000-square-foot development will have two office buildings, both with waterfront views, he said.
The project includes 70,000 square feet of retail space, 31,100 square feet of commercial space and 24,000 square feet of medical space. Dickinson said he is talking with a medical firm about leasing space there.
As part of a state program intended to draw businesses into new developments, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration this month announced the $1.3 million grant that will create public infrastructure needed in the area.
Awarded on June 5, the grant – the first of 20 to be awarded by the Massachusetts Opportunity Relocation and Expansion Jobs program (MORE) – will widen a nearby highway off-ramp and add traffic signals in front of Fairhaven Mills, according to Patrick’s office.
In a statement, Patrick said the grant should help foster a positive relationship between the municipality and the private sector. His office estimated that about 300 jobs will be created by the development.
Established in 2006, the MORE program issues grants for public infrastructure improvements with the ultimate goal of making both public and private parcels ready for new business growth and relocation.
Fairhaven Mills doesn’t have a build-out date yet.
“There are some loose ends,” Dickinson said. “The [biggest] one is that we have to find a major tenant still. And we’re working on it – it’s just too soon to make an announcement.” •
