Happy New Year from the TDI District Partnership!
As we bid farewell to 2024 and welcome 2025, we can’t help but reflect on the incredible accomplishments we’ve achieved together over the past year. This has been a time of connection, creativity, and growth within the Acushnet Avenue New Bedford TDI District – a time to celebrate what we’ve built and look ahead to the opportunities that await.
2024 closed with unforgettable moments at St. Anthony of Padua Church, the heart of our district and a beacon of community spirit.
In September, we introduced something truly special to The Ave: a lively block party in front of St. Anthony’s that transformed the street into a pedestrian haven. Neighbors came together to enjoy delicious food, vibrant music, spirited dancing, and even a high-energy Zumba session!
Then, in December, the church was the site of Nelson Rapoza’s groundbreaking Broken Glass Projection Mapping sound and light show. Over 500 attendees were captivated by a magical evening that combined innovation and tradition.
Just a week later, Spinner Publications hosted the launch of their latest book, The French in New Bedford: The Early Years, at St. Anthony’s. The event was such a success that they sold out every available copy! (Don’t worry—more are on the way. Keep an eye on spinnerpub.com for updates.)
There were other notable events and occasions as well. The New Bedford TDI District welcomed the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED) Secretary Yvonne Hao to Acushnet Avenue for a roundtable conversation with immigrant-owned businesses from the city and across the region to celebrate National Immigrant Heritage Month.
More than 100 people attended the roundtable, which the EOED team described as a success. Maria Giesta, the district Ward 2 City Councilor, welcomed the Secretary, while Corinn Williams, Executive Director of the Community Economic Development Center (CEDC), gave a presentation highlighting the CEDC’s business assistance program and the TDI partnership initiatives supporting small business development. District business owners expressed their appreciation for TDI’s support and efforts in creating opportunities like this roundtable, which increases the district’s visibility and provides them with valuable chances to participate.
In collaboration with the CEDC, the partnership brought the concept of movie nights in Riverside Park to fruition with a well-attended screening of “Despicable Me 3,” and planned another that unfortunately got canceled due to weather. But more are certainly on the agenda!
Then, in partnership with small businesses, three walls on The Ave were transformed into giant screens for a Love The Ave Halloween trick-or-treat, adding a new dimension to space activation. Broken Glass Projection Mapping provided the magic.
While these events brought us together in joyful celebration, they were also milestones in a year-long effort to lay the groundwork for an even brighter future in 2025. From collaborative conversations to creative projects, our partners have been hard at work imagining new ways to Love The Ave.
One standout initiative involved a collaboration between New Bedford Creative’s Margo Saulnier and Hendrick Hernandez-Resto and UMass Dartmouth’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA). Under Professors Jess Worby and Roger Andrews, students explored the district’s potential for public art and placemaking, inspired by the community connections forged through the Envision Resilience mural – which we wrote about in our September newsletter.
Hendrick explains, “This semester, Margo and I visited the students’ class to introduce the mission and vision of MassDevelopment/TDI and Love the Ave. We discussed the Avenue’s rich history, its cultural and economic significance, and the design assets integral to the campaign.
“Following this, the students participated in a guided district tour, allowing them to immerse themselves in the neighborhood and draw inspiration for their work. Over/Under, the technical assistance providers who led the district’s Love The Ave rebranding, also provided thoughtful critiques that greatly enhanced the students’ concepts.”
While these designs are not yet slated for implementation, they serve as powerful inspiration for what’s possible when we blend creativity and community. Take a look at a sampling in the slideshow below.
As we embark on this new year, we carry the lessons and momentum of 2024 with us. Together, we’ve shown that when imagination and collaboration meet, extraordinary things can happen.
We invite you to make 2025 your year to Love The Ave—365 days to dream big, connect deeply, and build on the vibrant spirit of North End, New Bedford.
Here’s to a Happy New Year filled with new opportunities to create, celebrate, and thrive together!
With gratitude and excitement,
The New Bedford TDI District Partnership
Talking third spaces on The Ave
TDI Partnership members and supporters are always ready to wonk out in order to further our mission of making the commercial corridor of Acushnet Avenue a destination like no other in New Bedford. So we accepted with alacrity when Colleen Dawicki, city resident, member of the New Bedford School Committee and Director of Working Spaces at the Boston Federal Reserve sent out invitations to lunch on December 11 at Case Lempira, 1264 Acushnet Avenue, to discuss ‘third places.’ They are spots other than your home or work place which you make your own for various purposes.
The special guest who facilitated the conversation was a friend: Reif Larsen, a small-city aficionado whose Future of Small Cities Institute has done some great work in New York cities like Troy and Albany. But now, he’s a MA resident doing some work with MassDevelopment and a few Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) Fellows to build out an ‘urban room’ concept that activates community through accessible third places in commercial corridors – like The Ave.
The lively discussion touched on the importance of not only identifying such spaces but ensuring their viability with robust programming. It’s not just a case of “if you build it, they will come.” Successful ‘urban rooms’ that become valued ‘third places’ meet a need articulated by the community as time goes on – and the person, group or organization who listens and adjusts as time goes by achieves their goals.
With spaces like the Cape Verdean Community Center, Island Park and the Capitol Theater slated to open their doors in the coming years on The Ave it was a timely as well as necessary discussion. And, Casa Lempira’s Honduran-inpsired lunch was delicious! Make it your third place ASAP!
Let’s Meet Up
Put Tuesday, January 14 on your calendar and seize the opportunity to learn more about the New Bedford Economic Development Council’s small business grant programs, NB100! And NBForward!
TDI District partners EforAll have organized a Meet Up with none other than Marianella Perry, NBEDC Officer for Business Support, Communications and Special Projects at Groundwork, 1213 Purchase Street, New Bedford from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
NB100! is a grant program offered by the NBEDC to promote entrepreneurship, grow local wealth, and strengthen community bonds. Through this program, entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to apply for a kick-starter grant up to $10,000.00.
NBForward! is a small business assistance program that provides resources for businesses to get through current challenges, while looking toward investing in, and preparing for, greater future success. The NBEDC is offering grants of up to $20,000 in conjunction with matching financing and other technical assistance (business planning, resource guidance, best practices, etc.). Grant funds shall be matched with a NBEDC loan with deferred payments for three months. The minimum loan amount is $10,000, and the maximum loan amount is $200,000.
RSVP to the free event at this link.
Feature photo at top of page: A design by Charlie Mulhern for the CVPA project.
– 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 [email protected]