New Bedford Mayor: Kings Highway Is Coming 'Back to Life'

Things are happening on Kings Highway in New Bedford, where two large retail plazas have sat mostly empty for years.

Not one but three new businesses are preparing to open at the Fieldstone Marketplace, including a restaurant.

Cedar-Kings LLC owns Fieldstone Marketplace, and Cedar Fieldstone LLC owns King Plaza to the east. Both are Virginia-based real estate investment trusts. The trusts have owned the properties since around 2005.

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Last fall, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell told me the attitude of the LLCs was, "We won't put a dime into them, or very little money into them, and that's our investment strategy."

Mitchell said while "unfortunate," they "have a right to sit on the properties."

A lot has changed since then.

Barry Richard/Townsquare Media

The Church Street passenger station for South Coast Rail is waiting for the commuter trains to begin rolling next spring. That has triggered developer interest in the nearby plazas.

Ollie's @ Building #19 is set to open at the former Shaw's Supermarket, closed since 2011. Restaurant Depot is also going to open in the space next to it.

Caliente Mexican Grill, also opening a location in Dartmouth, plans a restaurant at the former Papa Gino's storefront at Fieldstone Marketplace.

Also coming soon is LaundroLab laundromat.

Barry Richard/Townsquare Media

"For several years, the New Bedford Economic Development Council has urged the owner of the plaza to either sell the property or seek tenants for its space," Mitchell said. "I'm glad the owner is actively developing the site, and I look forward to seeing it come back to life."

Ward 1 City Councilor Leo Choquette said he sees this as just the beginning.

"The area is coming alive economically," Choquette said. "I foresee that with the imminent start of the commuter rail line, more development will continue in that plaza."

"If you look at the history of commercial development around the Middleboro-Lakeville line, it is likely the Kings Highway plazas will experience the same effect," he said.