Three builders are in the running for a historic opportunity to develop the Fall River waterfront.

 

In July, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation opened bids on 20 acres created by the demolition of a chunk of Route 79. The deadline for developers to submit bids was Oct. 21.

 

The Cordeiro Group, a local company, is offering $10,340,500 for the land. National real estate development firm The Michaels Organization put in a bid for $15,220,000, while a partnership between firms Mark Development and Wood Partners has bid $13,968,000, according to a MassDOT spokesperson.

 

While specific details of each proposal are not yet public, MassDOT has said it’s looking for a new mixed-use neighborhood of apartment buildings, commercial spaces and public amenities, built from scratch between Fall River’s new MBTA Commuter Rail station and the waterfront.

 

The state decided to award the entire project to one company, while allowing that company to subcontract for parts of the development, which will bring up to 1,500 new market-rate housing units to the city.

 

MassDOT plans to choose the winning bidder "as soon as practicable," according to the agency spokesperson.

According to its official invitation to bid, the agency will require bidders to meet requirements including financial experience, buying the land as it is, and complying with the city's master plan for the area. Of the bidders who meet every requirement, the state will select the one offering the highest price, the invitation said.

 

The state’s bid specifications were crafted to align with Fall River’s Davol Street Corridor Master Plan, written by the Fall River Redevelopment Authority, city planning and engineering director Dan Aguiar, consulting firm Stantec and consultant Ken Fiola, who leads the nonprofit Bristol County Economic Development Consultants.

 

Some local officials have tried to give the city more control over the development. A bill sponsored by state Rep. Carole Fiola that would have transferred the land to the Fall River Redevelopment Authority passed the House but stalled in the Senate. An August letter from Fall River city councilors asking for more of a say in the process did not change the state’s position.

 

See more at wpri.com.