Disposition of Police Station #2 at 170 Cove Street

The City of New Bedford is soliciting proposals for the acquisition and adaptive reuse redevelopment of the former Police Station #2 at 170 Cove Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts, under RFP posted July 14, 2026, with proposals due August 17, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. The property must be rehabilitated in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation.

The subject property is a circa 1926 Neoclassical-style building of approximately 4,240 square feet on a 0.1366-acre lot (Assessor's Map 20 Lot 139) zoned Mixed Use Business, which permits single- and multi-family residential, office and research-and-development, retail and service commercial, eating and drinking establishments, accommodations, educational and recreational facilities, community uses, and arts uses. The property is currently assessed at $516,000 and includes public water, sewer, natural gas, and electricity service, plus an 8,000-gallon underground oil tank. The City conveys the property on an "as-is" basis; the successful proposer assumes all costs and responsibilities for environmental testing and remediation, site plan approval, permitting, engineering, and environmental studies under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 21E.

The evaluation committee will rank proposals as highly advantageous, advantageous, not advantageous, or unacceptable based on development team qualifications; financial capacity; likelihood of timely completion within 18–24 months; design quality; and economic and community benefits including job creation commitments. Proposers must demonstrate realistic development budgets with clearly identified financing sources and submit comparable projects completed within the past seven years, detailed site plans, implementation timelines, financial information, tax compliance certifications, beneficial interest disclosures, non-collusion certificates, and arson-conviction affidavits. A non-mandatory site visit is scheduled for July 23, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Questions are due August 4, 2026 at 4:00 p.m., with responses by August 7 at 4:00 p.m. The City Council Property Committee reviews all proposals and makes a recommendation to City Council, which reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.