Housing development proposed for long-vacant Keystone lot

NEW BEDFORD — A housing developer plans to build dozens of new apartments on a vacant lot in the heart of downtown.

The lot at 193-197 Union St. has been empty since 2004, when the Keystone Building was demolished after a roof collapse. Now, Boston-based One Circle Company has entered an agreement with MassDevelopment, the state’s land bank, to buy the property.

The planned development will have 45 market-rate apartments and 2,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

“There is a renaissance happening in downtown New Bedford, which is why we are thrilled to enter into an agreement with One Circle Company and see this blighted property transformed into a new building where people can live, work, and do business,” MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera said in a press release.

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