They're tearing up a parking lot to put in paradise.

Construction on the new urban park where the Custom House Square parking lot now sits is scheduled to begin Friday. City crews will begin setting up fencing around the site, in preparation for the green space designed by New Bedford native Christopher Reed of Stoss Landscape Urbanism.

The new park, being funded by a $300,000 grant, should be finished by late summer.

Mayor Jon Mitchell says the goal of the project is to transform the underutilized parking lot into a central green space.

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