The New Bedford, Mass. economic development road show will roll into Boston and Providence this month, giving officials a chance to tout their city’s development opportunities to area business people.
At breakfast meetings to be held in Boston on Wednesday, Feb. 3 and in Providence on Tuesday, Feb. 16, Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz Jr., along with James G. DeMello, president of Acushnet Rubber Co., Antone G. Souza Jr., executive director of the New Bedford Waterfront Historic League, and John R. Zakian, executive director of the New Bedford Economic Development Council Inc., will speak about New Bedford’s available properties and the assistance its economic development council offers businesses looking to relocate there.
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Real estate brokers, developers, and financial institution executives are among the people expected to attend. The Boston breakfast will take place from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Exchange Conference Center; the Providence breakfast will take place from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Marriott.
Specifically, the team will push its Real Estate Assistance Program, (REAP), a database of the city’s available commercial and industrial property. The database, which has been running for about six months, is a free service for businesses looking to buy property. Eighty percent of the available properties have been recorded in the database, with the help of area brokers, said Denis Hanks, development officer for the New Bedford Economic Development Council.
”It’s been very helpful for some people, and it’s given us a handle on what we (have),” he said.
The city has about 24 million square feet of space available, he said. Over the past seven months the council has helped about a dozen companies expand in New Bedford, generating $43 million in new investment, Hanks said.
The breakfast tour is also an effort to show off New Bedford’s new approach to business development. Under Kalisz, the council has been overhauled. Before, it consisted of the mayor and a small group of economic development specialists. Now, it is a private corporation with 40 members, including small business people, executives from large corporations, educators, and community leaders.
In addition to business opportunities, the economic development council is looking to promote the city’s cultural amenities and quality of life. The airport expansion project, a $17.5 million job, and the $125 million New Bedford aquarium project are examples, he said.
On the business side, the council is attempting to make it easier for business seeking to expand by assisting them with site selection and by streamlining the permitting process. The council is also charged with marketing the city, Hanks said.
”We’re very aggressive,” Hanks said. “We go out and market, knock on people’s doors and ask them to come out and see what New Bedford has to offer.”
