This spring marked an exciting milestone for the Love The Ave initiative and the future of Acushnet Avenue. As we first shared back in April, the Love The Ave New Bedford TDI District, in partnership with the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) and the New Bedford Department of City Planning, co-hosted a transformative three-day design charrette that brought together over 200 participants, including nationally renowned urban designers, local stakeholders, and community members. From March 17–19, the Our Lady of Angels Band & Cultural Center at 1446 Acushnet Avenue became a hub of creative energy and civic collaboration, as the community came together to envision a more connected, economically vibrant, and pedestrian-friendly Acushnet Avenue.
Since then, the work has continued. At CNU’s annual conference in Providence this past June, the organization presented the results of the charrette in a detailed presentation deck that outlines the vision for the “Love The Ave Legacy Project.” Developed with input from the community and the expert design teams at Arup and Street Plans, the presentation addresses both the challenges and opportunities facing The Ave, and proposes real solutions for meeting both head-on.
Now, we’re excited to share the main takeaways from that deck – key ideas that emerged through local dialogue, public workshops, and expert insight. Here’s what they had to say about The Ave’s path into the future:
Project Goals: The project aims to activate vacant parcels, animate streets, and implement both short-term tactical projects and long-term changes to Acushnet Avenue.
Existing Conditions: Acushnet Avenue is described as New Bedford’s international marketplace, a dense multifamily neighborhood that grew as a commercial spine for various immigrant waves. It has a strong sense of community and culture, but faces challenges related to walkability (unsafe perception, failing infrastructure, insufficient lighting), visibility (regional brand, local patronage, events promotion), and development (vacant lots, blank street walls, frontage parking, perceived parking difficulty). Strengths include connectivity, strong ethnic food culture, and a vibrant community.
Community Engagement: A 3-day charrette was held in March 2025 to gather input from diverse community members, including key organizations, residents, officials, and business owners, to shape the future of the neighborhood. Activities focused on identifying strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
Community Vision: The community’s vision emphasizes creating a safe environment, fostering vibrancy to make the Avenue a lively destination, prioritizing walkability, and transforming it into a true destination where people actively choose to go.
Tactical Moves (Outcomes of Engagement): Short-term interventions proposed include improving lighting (LED fixtures, optimizing levels, smart controls), a cleaner Ave (frequent cleaning, more trash cans, public education), more street trees, wayfinding, more places to sit, increased greenery, bus stop amenities (shelters, seating, real-time info), and parklets (converting parking/vacant lots into public sidewalk extensions).
Focus Areas: Three specific areas were identified for intervention: Acushnet Avenue itself, Coffin Avenue, and Nye Street.
Proposed Interventions for Acushnet Avenue:
- Short-term: More trash cans, parklets, planters, wayfinding, façade lighting, string lights, “quick-build” enhancements, events, and programming.
- Long-term: Streetscape overhaul (streetlamps, bus shelters, curb extensions), mixed-use infill development for vacant/underutilized land, and potential formation of a Business Association or BID.
Specific Site Proposals:
- Site 1 (1301-1307 Acushnet Avenue): Former historic rooming house site, currently a vacant lot attracting dumping. Proposed as a mixed-use structure with ground-floor retail and residential units on upper floors.
- Site 2 (1283-1289 Acushnet Avenue): Site of a fire, overgrown lot creating a gap in the urban fabric. Proposed as a mixed-use structure with ground-floor retail and residential units on upper floors.
- Site 3 (Pawn Shop Parking Lot): Large private parking lot contributing to the “sea of asphalt” effect and heat island effect. Proposed as a mixed-use structure with ground-floor retail and residential units on upper floors.
Implementation Strategy: Emphasizes incremental implementation through strong collaboration, a phased approach, robust community engagement, data-driven decision-making, funding diversification, flexibility, and commitment to visible progress. That path entails short-term packages (Complete Streets Program, grants, Inclusive and Accessible Events, Shared Streets and Spaces, Neighborhood Hub application) and long-term improvements (designing and constructing, FTA bus facilities, Greening the Gateway Cities Program, MassWorks Infrastructure Program/Housing Choice Grant Program).
So, there you have it – one possible roadmap for The Ave moving forward. Of course, not every recommendation may happen. But, it’s part of an emerging vision for this historic and vital area in North End, New Bedford. A vision shared by the Love The Ave TDI Partnership and so many others in the city.
- The Love The Ave New Bedford TDI Partnership team
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North End, New Bedford EVENTS OF NOTE in August:
Saturday, August 9: Giant Kite Making Community Workshop
El Patio de Comidas Festival | CEDC New Bedford
235 N. Front Street, New Bedford
Saturday, August 9 | 2:00-6:00
Come participate in giant kite-making workshops with multi-media artist Magda Leon and the Guatemalan Center of New England. These giant kites, called barriletes, are inspired by a Mayan tradition from southern Guatemala where giant kites are crafted by the community throughout the year and flown in November to honor loved ones that have passed away.
Many of the kites made in the workshop will be on view alongside other artworks, personal stories, and installations by multi-media artist Magda Leon at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in the fall of 2027. The project celebrates the histories and experiences of the Guatemalan community in the greater New Bedford area and Southcoast—drawing connections between ancient communal practices and contemporary experiences of migration, exploring the universal pursuit for belonging and community.
This 2027 community-focused exhibition is part of a larger multi-year exploration of migration and community in New Bedford and the foundational labor and industrial histories of the region.
The Giant Kite Making Community Workshop on Saturday, August 9 from 2-6:00 p.m. takes place during the weekly Patio de Comidas outdoor feast held on the grounds of the Community Economic Development Center (CEDC) at 235 N. Front Street. So come hungry!
Friday, August 15: Child & Family Services will host an afternoon of fun for the whole family on Friday, Aug. 15 at 3057 Acushnet Avenue. FREE backpacks, school supplies, basic haircuts, and other helpful resources. Entertainment & refreshments will also be provided! See the Facebook event page for any updates.
SAVE THE DATE: The Sabor y Ritmo block party returns to Acushnet Avenue on Saturday, September 13 from 5-7:00 p.m. It’s the second edition of what turned out to be a stellar success last September when the Sabor y Ritmo block party made its debut as part of the new cultural fabric of Acushnet Avenue. We wrote then in a special blog post, “…it worked. Beautifully. And The Love The Ave Block Party – named Sabor y Ritmo in observance of National Hispanic Heritage month – is part of the new lore of this storied street. Acushnet Avenue in front of historic St. Anthony of Padua Church from Nye Street to Bullard Street was transformed into a vibrant public space. The cars were gone; the people filled the street – along with music, dancing, performance and more.” The sequel promises even more music, dancing, food, fun and more on Saturday, September 13 in 2025. Definitely save this date!
AT THE AVE’S FRONT DOOR….
You may have noticed our friends at MassDOT have begun pre-construction activities for the rehabilitation of Interstate195 at Route 18 Highway Interchange just south of Coggeshall Street on the North End. The project will take five years and replace the elevated portion of Interstate 195 above Route 18. The project will include ramp reconstruction and closures. To stay up to date on construction activities see MassDOT’s website here; to sign-up for email updates visit this link. MassDOT has also posted a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to their website, which you can find here, and a Fact Sheet with additional information here.
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IN THE NEWS:
New Bedford Light checked in on the ongoing renovation of the Capitol Theater on Acushnet Avenue – and its new Green Roof. Corinn Williams, director of the Community Economic Development Center, said the center chose the green roof as an innovative strategy for a problem that is typically difficult to solve in urban spaces. The CEDC plans to move its headquarters to the Capitol Theater building on Acushnet Avenue from its current location on North Front Street in 2026. Read the story here.
Boston Magazine dines out in New Bedford – and finds five seafood restaurants that whet their appetite – including North End’s Antonio’s Restaurant on Coggeshall Street. They write, “New Bedford—now more accessible from Boston than ever thanks to the new South Coast commuter rail line—is the nation’s wealthiest commercial fishing port. So, when you visit, you should eat some seafood. Pull up a seat at this link.
– The New Bedford TDI District is a diverse and vibrant neighborhood in the central economic corridor of the city’s North End. This distinct neighborhood is characterized by its linear commercial spine of small business storefronts on the ground level of one- and two-story tenement structures along with ethnic restaurants, cafes, bakeries, churches, and social clubs. The supporting dense neighborhood is comprised primarily of multifamily housing for legacy Portuguese-descent residents and Latino, Hispanic, and Central American immigrant populations. At the forefront of priorities for the New Bedford TDI Partnership is place-based economic development that focuses on small-business development, entrepreneurship, and public realm improvements with an arts-and-culture-based approach. Adelsa Mendes is the TDI fellow for the New Bedford TDI District. You can reach her at amendes@massdevelopment.com