New MBTA Station, Highway Demolition Creating 2M SF Development Opportunity In Fall River

A 19-acre waterfront site in Fall River could represent a new era of economic growth for the old industrial city in southern Massachusetts.

The site is becoming developable land thanks to the demolition of an elevated portion of the Route 79 highway, a $139M project that is close to completion. And last week, the city opened a new commuter rail station near the site that directly connects Fall River to Boston by train for the first time since the 1950s.

Local officials envision a 2M SF mixed-use development that could include 1,500 housing units on the site, Ken Fiola, executive vice president of Bristol County Economic Development Consultants, told Bisnow. He said the city has met with nearly a dozen developers and hopes to select a development team in the next 12 to 18 months.

"Having the commuter rail within the city is not only helpful to our planned waterfront development, but it's also having a very positive impact on commercial as well as residential properties in the city," Fiola said. "What we anticipated is starting to come to fruition."

The South Coast Rail, which opened March 24, is an extension of the Middleborough/Lakeville commuter rail line that added six new stops: Middleborough, East Taunton, Freetown, Fall River Depot, Church Street and New Bedford. The project has spanned decades, and it cost the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority more than $1B to construct the new rails and train stops, The Boston Globe reported.

For Fall River — Massachusetts’ 10th-most-populous city, with 94,000 residents — the previous lack of commuter rail access to Boston left it unable to draw the same economic development that other industrial cities on branching lines have gained in recent years.

Fiola said he was part of the team that pushed for the opening of the commuter rail line for the last three decades because of the boost in new residents and investment that could follow. He said the waterfront development opportunity came from a 2018 waterfront urban renewal plan recommendation.

Architectural consulting firm Stantec is working on a master plan for the site, and several development companies have shown interest in it, Fiola said, including bigger Boston developers and out-of-state firms.

One SouthCoast Chamber CEO Mike O'Sullivan said the 19-acre project and the commuter rail station "are going to make the waterfront boom."

"When you put that literally across the street from the train station, that's going to change everything," O'Sullivan said about the waterfront project.

One developer is already moving forward with a separate project on the waterfront.

Heath Development acquired an old mill building at 609 Davol St., walking distance from the South Coast Rail stop, with plans to build a six-story, 68-unit development. Heath founder Vitaly Fedosik told Bisnow that part of his attraction to the site was the railway.

"I started doing all of this research about what was going to happen with the new redevelopment on the waterfront and the train," Fedosik said, adding that there were initial doubts from residents about whether the city would follow through with its plans. "I had a good feeling this was all going to go down."

Fedosik bought the properties at 577 and 609 Davol St. for $600K in 2021, The Herald News reported. Fedosik also bought an 11K SF parcel from the Fall River Redevelopment Authority, which he plans to put more housing and commercial development on.

Other long-term investors and developers in the city said they are happy to see Fall River finally getting the attention and investment activity it deserves.

Cordeiro Properties CEO Anthony Cordeiro grew up in Fall River, and his firm has become one of the largest developers in the area. The company has expanded its downtown Fall River portfolio over the years by turning vacant and underutilized mill and industrial buildings into new market-rate housing.

"I'm thrilled that the train is here now," Cordeiro said. "I see tremendous opportunity for people like me and others who want to invest in this great city of Fall River."

Cordeiro has also worked on the waterfront, including a $30M investment in the renovation of the former Quaker Fabric Corp. Mechanics Mill building at 1082 Davol St. The project includes more than 100 loft apartments.

Cordeiro said he hopes that with the introduction of the new railway, the city can finally begin to benefit from the economic development that other gateway cities like Worcester and Lowell have seen in the past couple of years. He also said he hopes more people begin to move to the city, diversifying income streams to create vibrant and thriving neighborhoods.

"The city is an old gateway city, but it has so much potential," Cordeiro said. "You start to see the other stuff that comes around from bringing disposable income. … We are so close to everything, but yet at a discounted rate right now."

Officials and developers hope the opening of the South Coast Rail will help Fall River and other major South Coast cities New Bedford and Taunton attract tourists and expand on investment in restaurants and other retail offerings in the city.

"There's a lot of great tourism attractions," One SouthCoast's O'Sullivan said.

Popular tourist attractions include the Lizzie Borden House, one of the state’s most famous haunted houses, and the Battleship Cove museum, which holds the world's largest collection of U.S. naval ships.

In 2023, the city invested more than $670K of American Rescue Plan Act funds, in partnership with local nonprofit Viva Fall River, to boost tourism, including $50K on a tourism study and hiring a new events resource coordinator, The Herald News reported. The city also created a new logo to accompany the investments.

"You have those types of investments already being made because people know that there's great things happening in both cities," O'Sullivan said of Fall River and New Bedford. "The South Coast Rail is a major piece of their economies that are already changing and improving and getting better."

Fiola said that with the addition of the new commuter rail stop, he hopes it will attract residents from closer to Boston who are looking for more affordable housing options. He said that the addition of higher-income residents could help bring more growth to local businesses and restaurants.

"People being forced out of Boston, whether they're white-collar or blue-collar, professional or nonprofessional people, will have an opportunity to move into this area but still work north of here," Fiola said. "That, to me, is going to bring in a whole new constituency of people."