A transformation is underway at the former Capitol Theater that will provide commercial space and six affordable rental units to the Acushnet Avenue neighborhood.
The estimated $11 million Capitol Theater revitalization project is in an area designated by MassDevelopment as a Transformative Development District.
A groundbreaking ceremony held June 25 was an opportunity to provide the neighborhood with an update on the restoration project.
Community Economic Development Center Director Corinn Williams said she looks forward to moving into the former theater next year with the CEDC offices on the first floor near the end of what has been a long road. A bank office will also be located on the first floor of the 24,000-square-foot building, filling a need in the neighborhood.
“Having this anchor space so that we can provide the services will be terribly important, and we have developed a partnership with SouthCoast Federal Credit Union, and we built on that partnership and are really excited to have a mini branch there,” she said.
More:What is going to happen with the Capitol Theater? Big plans are in store in the North End
The CEDC acquired the historic building, located within an environmental justice census block near New Bedford’s North End several years ago.
The CEDC creates events, public art exhibits and learning activities for neighborhood residents to enjoy, building pride and excitement in the neighborhood, according to its website.
Working with immigrants from Central America and the Caribbean, CEDC fosters ownership of public spaces from the Newcomer groups. The CEDC has worked with the new immigrant community in New Bedford for over 25 years.
How the space will be used
The building has been vacant since the 1970s.
Williams said the theater space will become a place for economic and workplace development. There will be four classrooms for classes, so they will be able to work with young entrepreneurs as the next wave of immigrants move in.
There will also be a commercial kitchen installed so people can prepare food to sell out of food trucks or a restaurant and food vendors could use the space closer to what is now the stage to feed the people in the classrooms and people entering from Acushnet Avenue.
Along with the business incubator space, there will be 2,400 square feet of leasable retail space.
On the second floor there will be six mixed-income housing units, including two-bedroom units.
A center of resilience
Williams said it will be a resilience hub for the neighborhood renting storefronts for local businesses and providing community services. The CEDC has been called on to help residents when there is flooding or other climate-related events and when there are fires that impact the community.
“The CEDC has become sort of this convenient point for emergencies, so having this meeting space, healing space as a resilience hub will really make a difference in light of that kind of change,” she said.
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Lucia Mateo, who works for the CEDC and lives in New Bedford, is grateful for all the support from the city for contributing to the project and said this space is going to be a very special place for the neighborhood. She also had a fire at her home.
Mateo said the CEDC always wants to encourage the participation and involvement of the community, and it’s not just a place where people will go to resolve problems. She said they also want it to be a resource for community development.
She said it will be a center that belongs to everybody.
From theater to business space
Mayor Jon Mitchell said the Capitol Theater was once a thriving center of entertainment from when it opened more than 100 years ago until it shut down around 1980.
“I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the role of design for the overall revitalization of the neighborhood,” he said. “It matters a lot to make it look just so externally especially but also internally, and that will help spur investments in other parts of the neighborhood.”
He said there is a lot of government support, so there may be questions about why the private sector doesn’t have more of a share in the viability of the project. He said it’s too important of a neighborhood to let deterioration of the building continue when the funding is available.
More:Community Preservation Committee recommends more $2 million in New Bedford projects
The city has contributed more than $1 million in Community Preservation Act funding to the project. There is also $1.64 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding and a $375,000 grant from the Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund.
The CEDC has in turn leveraged other sources of capital, including state and federal Historic Tax Credits, grants from MassDevelopment and private fundraising.
They call the North End home
Rep. Tony Cabral, D-New Bedford, said this project is the most significant investment in the neighborhood in the last 20 years, having previously called the North End home, and is proud looking forward to seeing the final transformation.
“Once this is up and running here, we’re going to see other investments in this neighborhood, and that’s what we need,” he said.
Ward 2 City Councilor Maria Giesta, who grew up in the North End, said Acushnet Avenue has always been an economic engine of the city and has attracted many immigrants, and as an immigrant herself, she’s very proud of her city and how it is advancing.
She said she’s most proud that there will be a new bank in the Capitol Theater building for the residents of the “Ave” so they can make a better life for their children.
“It helps people being able to have an account, either savings or checking, so they can do business, so they can buy a home, they can buy a business and send their children to school,” she said.
Standard-Times staff writer Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at kgallerani@gannett.com.
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