A renaissance has begun at the Riverside Landing mixed-use development in New Bedford's Hicks-Logan-Sawyer District. According to Mark Dickinson, president of Dickinson Development Corp. of Quincy, and Mark White, president of D. W. White Construction Company of Acushnet, the DeMoulas/Market Basket grocery chain has agreed to build a new 95,000 s/f supermarket flagship south coast location on the 14-acre site of the old Fairhaven Mills. The new state of the art supermarket will be approximately 50% larger than a traditional grocery store and allow for many expanded departments for area residents.
The DeMoulas/Market Basket is a family owned business with more than 50 years of experience serving communities with a combination of excellent selection and affordable pricing. Operating over 60 supermarkets in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the New Bedford store will be the chain's second in southeastern Massachusetts besides Raynham.
Site work has begun and construction of the new store is slated to begin this fall. Developers Dickinson and White predict that some 200 construction jobs will be created during Phase I, and, when open in 2010, the store will employ up to 300 full and part-time staff. At full build, Riverside Landing could employ a total of 500 people and bring over $250,000 annually in tax revenues to the city.
Leasing has begun by Dickinson on the front 2.25 acre commercial outparcel which features excellent visibility from I-195 and easy on- off ramp access due to the recent improvements. The outparcel can accommodate one or two users which could be open at the same time as the new Market Basket.
A second phase of the development calls for construction of a mixed use, 40,000 s/f office/retail building along the riverfront portion of the site. A riverwalk and park will be built along the water's edge to increase community access to the waterfront and make the Acushnet River part of the neighborhood. In collaboration with the City of New Bedford, a new boathouse will be constructed to allow the community to offer new rowing and boating programs.
The initial phase of the development, by virtue of a grant from the state, also includes area public infrastructure improvements including: reconfiguration of new ramps from Rte. I-195; an improved, safer signalized intersection; reconstruction of Coggeshall, Mitchell and Sawyer Sts.; and construction of a new pedestrian-friendly Riverside Dr. connecting Coggeshall St. to Sawyer St.
Dickinson says, "Transforming underused land into an attractive, productive property gives me a true sense of accomplishment. A successful development must fit in with surroundings, and new construction should connect with the community to bring new vitality. I have had the privilege to work with Market Basket as they have been a tenant at our Merrimac Plaza in Methuen for over 20 years. What they offer to the community in terms of quality and value are unmatched and we are thrilled to be able to bring them to the good people of New Bedford. DeMoulas' Market Basket at Riverside Landing will truly be an asset to the community."
Development partner Mark White, principal of D. W. White Construction Co., has over 46 years of experience with infrastructure construction projects focusing on general site, utilities, roads, bridges, and rock removal. D.W. White's forte has always been complex, high profile, fast-track projects with aggressive timelines. D.W. White's strength is the added "value engineering" that they bring to the table and, as such, are sought out by the premier developers and engineers in the region for their most complex projects.