The Willows - New Bedford

PRESENT & FUTURE Over the past 5 years the SouthCoast Life Science & Technology Park at Fall River has begun to take shape. Located directly off Route 24 via a new highway

Farm that is providing electricity back to the City of Fall River. Most notably though is the construction of a 1 million square foot distribution facility by Amazon. NAI Hunneman sold the land to Amazon and construction began in early 2016. When complete the new building will employ close to 900 people.

interchange (Innovation Way) the 300 acre project has seen several new projects include Biotech accelerator building operated by Mass Biologics and a Solar Array

In April the Mashpee Wampanoug Tribe broke ground on a $1 billion dollar “First Light” Casino development on 152 acres in Taunton. The casino broke ground and over $8 million worth of iron is on site waiting to be used. The destination resort would create thousands of construction jobs and over 2,600 permanent jobs. The site’s location at the intersection of Route 24 and Route 140 would be only 20 minutes from the Willows and a benefit to rental property owners in the area. The US department of the Interior approved the Tribe’s request to take their land into federal trust and designate the land as a reservation and a sovereign tribal nation. That decision is being fought in court by opponents of the project and the final decision on the designation of the land is under appeal. The state gaming commission has already awarded resort casino licenses for Region A (Eastern Mass – Everett) and Region B (Western Mass – Springfield). The last license for Region C (Southcoast) has yet to be awarded. This area of New Bedford will benefit from the proposed extension of the MBTA commuter train connecting Stoughton to Taunton, New Bedford, and Fall River. The MassDOT continues to fund the design of the South Coast Rail. As noted in the Fall River Herald “Jean Fox, South Coast Rail project manager, said in this second year of a five-year plan their funding of $148 million remains. The focus will be on rail design from Cotley Junction in Taunton to the southern triangle in Fall River and New Bedford, she said. By reaching a 30 percent design threshold would put the project in line for permit approvals. Fox continues to hope that can be accomplished this year.” One of the proposed stops in New Bedford would be along King’s Highway where there is currently a shopping center and existing rail. This would create a commuter train stop within walking distance (0.7 miles – 15 mintues) of the Willows. The redevelopment of the existing shopping center would create an opportunity to develop a mixed-use neighborhood center with new streets, sidewalks, shopping, and further demand for housing.

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