Fall River Office of Economic Development

1. Trending Developments
FALL RIVER OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Volume 2, Issue 12
FROED Board of Directors:
Officers
Mayor William A Flanagan,
Chairman/Ex-officio
Paul S. Medeiros, President
James M. Karam, Vice President
Frank Marchione, Treasurer
Alan F. Macomber, Clerk
At-Large Members
Joseph Baptista
Paul C. Burke
Francisco Cabral
Nicholas M. Christ
Mark Cordeiro
Larry Couto
Carlos A. DaCunha
Jerry Donovan
Bruce Fernandes
Alfredo M. Franco
Craig A. Jesiolowski
Stephen R. Karam
Michael Lund
Joseph A. Marshall
George Matouk, Jr.
Joan Menard
Kenneth R. Rezendes
Anthony Riccitelli
Joseph Ruggeiro, Sr.
James P. Sabra
Len Sullivan
Ex-Officio Members
Daniel Abraham
Carl Garcia
Atty. William G. Kenney
Meg Mayo-Brown
Scott O’Brien
Linda Pereira
Douglas Rodrigues
John J. Sbrega
Corporate Counsel
Atty. James W. Clarkin
Non-Voting Members
Robert A. Mellion
FROED Staff:
Kenneth Fiola, Jr., Esq.
Executive Vice President
Stephen Parr, Director of Finance
Janet A. Misturado, Director of
Administration
Louise A. Methot, Financial
Services Representative
Maria R. Doherty, Network
Administrator
Lynn M. Oliveira, Economic
Development Coordinator
December 2013
Route 79/Davol Street Corridor Study
In a public meeting held on
November 21, 2013, the
Massachusetts Department
of Transportation
announced the three longterm alternatives under
consideration for the Route
79/Davol Street Corridor
project.
Alternative 1 is an elevated
limited access Route 79,
which maintains an
elevated Route 79 with
cross connections, similar
to what currently exists.
This alternative would
create a maximum of
approximately 1.33 million
square feet of space for
retail, residential and office
space development. With
alternative 1 the “visual
barrier” created by Route
79 is worsened by raised
elevations, but the roadway
shift creates 10.1 acres for
green space and redevelopment. The cost of alternative 1 is $100 million.
Alternative 2 is an urban
boulevard, which creates an
at-grade Route 79. This
alternative would create a
maximum of approximately
1.4 million square feet of
space for retail, residential
and office space development. With alternative 2
the at-grade Route 79
removes the “visual barrier”
between Fall River and the
waterfront. In addition, the
roadway shift creates 10.6
acres for green space and
redevelopment while a
large median allows for
boulevard type landscaping.
The construction cost of
alternative 2 is $55 million.
Alternative 3 is a boulevard
with frontage roads, which
creates an at-grade Route
79 with frontage roads.
This alternative would
create a maximum of
approximately 1.99 million
square feet of space for
retail, residential and office
space for development.
With alternative 3 the
at-grade Route 79 removes
the “visual barrier” between
Fall River and the
waterfront. In addition, the
roadway shift creates 15
acres for green space and
minor redevelopment while
the median between northbound and southbound
Route 79 allows for landscaping. The construction
cost of alternative 3 is $55
million.
(Continued on page 2)
Inside this issue:
Fall River by the
Numbers
3
FROED 2013 Loan
Programs
3
Networking
Workshop
4
1 ZERO 4
4
CWT Professional
Building
4
Fall River Office of
Economic Development
One Government Center
Fall River, MA 02722
Phone: (508) 324-2620
Fax: (508) 677-2840
http://froed.org
Looking for a job?
Visit froed.org then select
the “Current Employment
Opportunities” tab. Next
click “Job Search” and
this will launch an
interactive database.
Within this database
alone there are currently
907
employment
opportunities within a 5
mile radius of Fall River.

2. Trending Developments
Route 79/Davol Street Corridor Study
(Continued from page 1)
The complete presentation
offered by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation can be found at
http://
www.massdot.state.ma.us/
route79/Home.aspx.
After extensive review of
previously compiled study
information and discussions
at the Working Group and
Public Information meetings, the Fall River Office
of Economic Development
supports Urban Boulevard
concept as depicted in alternative 2. Alternative 2 best
positions the waterfront for
economic growth from a
transportation, land use,
environmental and cost
standpoint. Further, the
creation of an urban
boulevard helps to create
10.6 acres of developable
land along the waterfront,
which can accommodate
1.4 million s/f of mixed
use development inclusive
of residential, office and
retail use along with 877
parking spaces within
structured parking.
along North and South
Davol Street. In addition,
the Urban Boulevard not
only re-establishes two
way traffic along Brightman Street but also (i)
helps to create direct
Brightman Street/Route 79
North access; (ii) strengthens user friendly, multimodel connectivity between the surrounding
neighborhoods and the
waterfront via new pedestrian walkways and bike
The Urban Boulevard con- paths; (iii) creates safe
cept best exemplifies the
vehicular traffic conditions
type of mixed use develop- conducive to neighborment that is complimenhood development; (iv)
tary to existing neighborhelps to create much needhoods and businesses
ed job opportunities
Alternative 2: Urban Boulevard
Page 2
for SouthCoast residents via
the project build out scenarios; (v) expands the city’s
tax base and (vi) best positions the waterfront for
SouthCoast Rail.
Any questions regarding the
Fall River Office of
Economic Development’s
decision to support Alternative 2 should be sent to info@froed.org. Questions
regarding the Route 79/
Davol Street Corridor Study
should be directed to the
Massachusetts
Department of Transportation Project Manager, Ethan
Britland at
ethan.britland@state.ma.us.

3. Trending Developments
Fall River by the Numbers...
Percent of Employment by Industry - Fall River
Other Services
Public Administration
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation,…
Educational Services, Health Care, …
Professional, Scientific, …
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, …
Information
Transportation, Warehousing, …
Retail trade
Wholesale Trade
Manufacturing
Construction
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing
0
Percent of Employment by
Industry - Fall River
5
10
15
20
25
30
*Figures based on SouthCoast Urban Indicators Project
Start spreading the news! It makes sound business sense to locate or expand operations in Fall River!
FROED LOAN PROGRAM STRONG IN 2013
Year end totals are in and the
Fall River Office of
Economic Development’s
(FROED) Loan Program had
another successful year.
Since January 1, 2013
FROED has provided low
interest loans to 16 local
businesses. The loans total
close to $1.4 million and
helped to retain over 300
jobs here in the city. The
loans are also projected to
create 30 new positions in
the various businesses that
received funds.
Mayor Flanagan noted,
“success of businesses
here in the city is a key
component to the development and prosperity of the
city.” The Mayor went on
to add, “having a resource
like the Office of Economic Development not only
benefits the businesses
who utilize those resources, but also the city
as a whole through job
retention and creation.”
The Fall River Office of
Economic Development
Mayor William Flanagan
offers a number of loan
who has identified himself as programs based on the
a pro-business mayor is
needs of the applicant’s
thrilled by the support these
business. Since 1978 the
local businesses are
Fall River Office of
receiving from FROED.
Economic Development
has issued more than $75
million in low interest
loans to more than 650
Fall River businesses,
which have helped to create and retain more than
15,000 jobs. Applicants
are asked to submit an application, financial statement and business plan to
be considered for a loan.
FROED’s loan programs,
funded in part through a
Community Development
Block Grant, can be combined with private, state
and federal funds.
Kenneth Fiola, Jr., Executive Vice President of the
Fall River Office of Economic Development is
pleased with the year end
totals noting, “We have a
diverse client base and
pride ourselves on
Page 3
working with businesses to
achieve their goals. We
have a strong finance team
and I encourage any Fall
River businesses looking
for financing to contact
our office.”
For additional information
about the loan programs
offered through FROED,
visit FROED’s website at
www.froed.org or contact
Finance Director Stephen
Parr at 508-324-2620.

4. One Government Center
Phone: 508-324-2620
Fax: 508-677-2840
Keeping Fall River working in Fall River.
FALL RIVER OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Perks of NOT being a Wallflower - January 15th
How many times do you
say to yourself that you
need to meet more people? That your circle of
influence needs to be
strengthened? That your
skills and products have
yet to be discovered? Yet
you find yourself not really knowing how to make
the most of a networking
opportunity and leave an
event disappointed...You're probably a
wallflower! Pull back
those petals and join
WINNING's Kevin Hallinan for Networking Boot
Camp and learn how to
go from wallflower to
superstar... Effective networking requires a plan
and an approach that is
strategic and measurable,
so get out of the corner
and get ready to shine!
1 ZERO 4
This FREE event will be
held on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 from 4:00 –
6:30 p.m. at the Cherry &
Webb Building, 139 South
Main Street – 4th floor, Fall
River, MA and is sponsored
by the Fall River Office of
Economic Development.
Space is limited, so please
register on line at
www.msbdc.org/semass
and click on event calendar
or call us at 508-673-9783 x
10. Metered parking is
available on South Main
Street. Additional parking is
available for a nominal fee
at the Pearl Street garage,
which is one block from the
building on the corner of
Pearl and Anawan Streets.
Funded in part through a cooperative
agreement with the U. S. Small Business Administration.
A team of entrepreneurs
have come together to create 1 ZERO 4, an incubator
for startup companies.
Located at 104 Anawan
Street, the 1 ZERO 4 team
seeks to help entrepreneurs
by offering a variety of
essential business services
to assist in the establishment and early operation of
companies. The incubator
offers common space open
to any individual or business, providing them with
access to all the resources
and amenities that would
be found in a normal office
along with incubator extras
such as a ping pong table.
The mission of 1 ZERO 4
is to help emerging companies connect with mentors
and potential investors to
help them become successful and profitable businesses, while simultaneously
increasing the economic
health of the local community.
For additional information
about 1 ZERO 4 visit their
facebook page or call their
office at 104 Anawan
Street at (508) 496–1433.
Offices with a
View
The CWT Professional Building located at 139 South Main
Street is the home of the former Cherry & Webb Department Store. The space has
since been converted to retail
and office space.
Current tenants include Drewbi
Salon, Café Arpeggio, UMass
Dartmouth, and McDonald
Law Offices among others.
Conveniently located across
from the new courthouse this
space offers convenience and
value.
Now available: Two water
view offices consisting of
2,250 sq. ft and 3,700 sq ft. A
convenient downtown location
and beautiful views make this
space ideal for professionals
looking to expand or relocate.
Anyone interested in visiting
the available space or learning
more about the CWT Professional Building should contact
FROED at 508-324-2620.
Mission statement of the Fall River Office of Economic Development:
Incorporated in 1978 as a 501(c)(4) corporation to promote the prosperity
and general welfare of the citizens of Fall River through the stimulation of
economic strength and expansion of new and existing business.
For more information please
visit our website:
www.froed.org
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