Demonstrating the growth of the seafood industry in Massachusetts, a 200,000-square-foot seafood processing plant is in the works in Boston and a large cold storage facility just opened in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Pilot Investments is developing 6.3 acres of a Massport-controlled waterfront property in Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park. The seafood processing complex will consist of a 60,000-square-foot facility, a 48,000-square-foot facility, and a 300-space parking garage, the Boston Globe reported.
Millennium Partners and Stavis Seafoods are also developing a 6.8-acre site in the industrial park, and Cape Cod Shellfish and Seafood wants to purchase a three-acre site next door, according to the Globe.
“The health of the industry is quite strong,” Eden Milroy, principal of Pilot Investments, told the newspaper. “The Boston area’s seafood industry has expanded internationally … They’re hiring more people. They’re doing quite a bit of business.”
Boston Sword and Tuna, which has doubled its number of employees over the past three years, will take over the 40,000-square-foot facility.
The complex will also include a 2,500-square-foot restaurant and seafood shop.
“The store would sell food that is processed on site or nearby, while the building may also have office space to accommodate a longshoremen’s union,” the Globe reported.
In related news, Waterfront Cold Store, LLC has opened a 36,000-square food cold storage facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the highest-grossing seafood port in the United States.
“Located directly on the harbor in New Bedford, WCS is able to offload fishing vessels at the facility and handle inbound and outbound railcars,” the company said in a statement. The frozen storage space and goods stored are managed by Camelot 3PL technology.
Waterfront Cold Store also added Robert Bowes as general manager, who worked for UPS for 28 years.
WCS is a food facility registered with the FDA and is approved for export shipments to the European Union. It is also a member of the Global Cold Chain Alliance and has Marine Stewardship Council Chain of Custody Certification.
