Committee sends amended transfer of New Bedford Textile School to redevelopment authority with timeline and proceeds conditions

The New Bedford Committee on City Property voted to refer to the full City Council an amended motion to transfer the city-owned property at 1215 Purchase Street, commonly known as the New Bedford Textile School, to the New Bedford Redevelopment Authority (NBRA) for development. The committee approved several amendments that set conditions on the transfer.

The committee first voted to offer the property for sale or lease for residential development and then voted to transfer the property to the NBRA for development. Councilors amended the transfer motion to permit mixed use on the first floor, to require that care and custody of the property revert to the City Council if the redevelopment authority does not have the property under agreement with a developer within 18 months (the property committee may extend that period upon majority vote), and to set how sale proceeds would be split: the NBRA may retain proceeds to cover its costs and 10% of the remaining proceeds; 90% of the remaining proceeds would…