For over 10 years, the vacant “Barker’s Lane Block” was an abandoned hole in New Bedford’s historic district.
In the middle of downtown’s newly revitalized restaurants, tourist destinations, educational space and retail shops, these buildings remained damaged, untouched and wouldn’t have survived another winter without intervention.
In 2016, WHALE collaborated with community members on an idea to create a hub for local arts with gallery space and affordable maker space for local artists, as well as mixed-income housing on the upper floors.
By 2016, this formerly abandoned block has been transformed into a collaborative retail, living and arts space that includes a gallery, education and maker space in the heart of downtown’s historic district. The Waterfront Historic Area League (WHALE), as owner and developer, collaborated with architect studio2sustain and project partners.
The mission of the Co-Creative Center is to establish a footprint for creative enterprise in the historic downtown to connect, support and celebrate artists and cultural entrepreneurship.
https://cocreativenb.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prGoTOceS0g
