Two Fall River developers get $2.5M each to build market-rate apartments: Here's where

FALL RIVER — The developers of two market-rate housing projects in the city were recently awarded $2.5 million each in tax credits under the state's Housing Development Incentive Program , meant to increase and diversify housing developments in Gateway Communities.

The Healey-Driscoll administration announced the awards on Tuesday along with Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus.

It’s part of a $27 million tax cut package recently awarded to 13 housing developments in 11 Gateway Communities statewide, and the largest award of its kind in the HDIP program’s history.

Award recipients in Fall River

The Fall River recipients are Tony Cordeiro of Cordeiro Properties and Charles Hajjar of Hajjar Management Co .

Cordeiro's project, the Union Belt Company Lofts in the Merrill Building at 66 Troy St., will create 46 units of market-rate housing downtown. The investment in the project is worth approximately $1.3 million to complete, according to Cordeiro.

Hajjar's project is the former Sacred Heart Church and rectory at 160 Linden St. , being developed into 36 units of market-rate housing. That project is valued at approximately $10 million.

“We expanded the HDIP program in our tax cuts package because it has a proven track record of spurring housing development in Gateway Cities and lowering costs,” said Gov. Maura Healey in a media release. “Our Gateway Cities are vital centers for industry and culture while also being positioned to help provide the housing we need to meet the demand. These funds help make projects possible that will create hundreds of homes, revitalize neighborhoods and strengthen our communities.”

Last year, at the urging of the Healey administration, the Legislature approved a $1 billion tax cut package that included raising the $10 million HDIP program cap to $57 million in 2024. Going forward that cap will be $30 million annually.

To qualify for the HDIP tax credit program, the project must be in an HDIP zone, created and approved by the community.

The projects must receive local approval for a real estate tax exemption or TIE agreement on the new value of the project and approved by the City Council.

Both projects received approval for local TIE tax agreements.

Downtown development: Tony Cordeiro aims to take 'the darkness' out of downtown Fall River with new apartments

Both developers have invested millions in Fall River market housing projects already

Cordeiro has been busy in recent years with several downtown housing development projects, including a new construction project at the site of the former Thomas Alva Edison Building at 60 Hartwell St. He plans to build 102 apartment units with 5,000 square feet of commercial space. The plans include two separate buildings constructed in two phases, called the Lofts at Hartwell Street.

With the HDIP award, Cordeiro said, he can now begin the construction of the Union Belt Company Lofts in the Merrill Building, which is one of four existing and pending projects that will yield over 200 market-rate apartment units within a few blocks of downtown.

Cordeiro said he’s been working on funding the Merrill Building project for some time, and that getting a HDIP award is difficult “and not a gift.”

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“It’s a very competitive process,” said Cordeiro. “I have to deliver 36 units, deliver it on time, then I’ve got to have it occupied at 80%. You have to deliver.”

Cordeiro started his redevelopment efforts over 10 years ago when he and partners Alan Macomber and Larry Couto took on the daunting waterfront redevelopment of the former Quaker Fabric Corp. headquarters on the Taunton River, turning the mill into a mixed-use facility.

Hajjar redeveloped the former Notre Dame de Lourdes School in the Flint neighborhood at 34 St. Joseph St. near Lafayette Park into a 48-unit market rate apartment complex, which is near completion and called The Lofts at Lafayette Park, an approximately $7.5 million project.

According to the Healey administration, the HDIP program is a tool for the state’s Gateway Cities to create additional market rate housing to support economic development, expand the diversity of housing stock and create more vibrant neighborhoods.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Two Fall River developers get $2.5M each to build market-rate apartments: Here's where