The project to establish the ATMC was born out of a tragedy. On January 12, 1987, a catastrophic fire hit the Kerr Mill complex on Martine Street, reducing the historic building to rubble. It was an economic disaster for 946 workers employed in various manufacturing and retail enterprises located on the complex on the north shore of South Watuppa Pond.

Three major buildings were destroyed, including No. 1, built in 1890 for the Kerr Thread Co.; No. 2, built in 1897 when the American Thread Co. acquired the complex; and No. 3, added by that company in 1907.

Almost immediately, city leaders began looking for ways to redevelop the site, and eventually went into an agreement with Umass Dartmouth to build a research and development center there.

The $14 million ATMC was financed and built by the Massachusetts Development agency, the state’s top economic development authority. President Michael Hogan acknowledged when building the ATMC that a lot of dreams and hopes are riding on the facility, which is operated by University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and a center for research and development on new and emerging technologies.

“This is in fact a very exciting day for southeastern Massachusetts, and for those of us in state government who want to boost development”, Hogan said. “This was not an easy site to work on, and was 14 years in the making. There were many false starts.”

On November 14, 2001, Acting Gov. Jane Swift was on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the Advanced Technology & Manufacturing Center, noting that the 60,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will spur economic development and create 120 new jobs in the region.

“Let’s not forget that the soil beneath our feet is mixed with the sweat and blood of the people who worked here and drove our economy”, Mayor Edward Lambert said.