Fall River saw a real estate development boom in 2023. What's on the horizon for 2024?

FALL RIVER — The city saw a stunning boom in the planning and production of market-rate housing in 2023, with plenty of new housing stock coming online in the coming year.

And with all the development is coming millions of dollars of investment to Fall River.

From new construction to the rehabilitation of former mills, churches and schools, Fall River could see more than 2,000 new units of housing to meet a growing demand — not to mention the sales and renovations of existing multi-family homes.

Developers, some creating housing in the city for the first time, cited a few reasons why they're attracted to Fall River, like the South Coast Rail MBTA commuter train service to Boston, which is now scheduled to begin next summer, and the development of the city's waterfront, including the massive Route 79 reconstruction project, which will open about 19 acres of developable land along the Taunton River.

Here is a look back at some of the housing projects The Herald News reported on in 2023.

Fall River real estate boom: Over 2,000 market-rate apartments are in the pipeline

New life into old mills

Looking back more than 10 years ago, developers have purchased and repurposed old mills, like the mixed-income Curtain Lofts on Quequechan Street, the site of the former Wampanoag Mill that opened in 2011, and the converted FR Knitting Mill on Alden Street.

And the trend isn’t slowing down. Developers are revitalizing some of Fall River's most notorious nuisance properties, like the former King Philip Mill on Kilburn Street, where progress to convert the massive structure into 100 housing units is apparent with the replacement of the structure's windows.

Earlier this year, a Boston-based company with a track record of redeveloping old mill buildings, including the construction of market-rate housing projects in the city, purchased a portion of King Philip Mill along the banks of Cook Pond for $1.5 million.

Most recently, the Zoning Board of Appeals gave the Goldman Group of Boston the green light to develop two old mills, the former Shelburne Shirt Co. at 135 Alden St. and one of the former mill complexes once owned and operated by Duro Textiles at 110 Chace St. off Bay Street.

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The projects, called Flint Mills and Wyoming Mills respectively, were granted the ability to create up to 805 new market-rate apartment.

The Herald News recently toured the future Wyoming Mills with East Providence, Rhode Island, architect David Sisson, walking through the empty labyrinth of four connected buildings.

“Our plan is really, it’s historical a historical preservation project and we are creating about 200 apartments. You can see there are beautiful historic brick buildings. And on the other side, there are some not very attractive concrete block and metal sheds,” said Sisson during the tour.

He said the developer's goal is to tear down the smaller, single-story buildings to open the historic structures.

One of the newer structures will be maintained for commercial space and a club house and gymnasium, said Sisson.

And Charlton Mills on Howe Street, behind Mitchell Heights apartments will develop that old mill into 40 units of market-rate housing.

Changes coming: A former Fall River church and two mills will be converted into market-rate apartments

Former schools, churches and other historical buildings

Mayor Paul Coogan, who recently toured the former Notre Dame de Lourdes School which Milton-based Hajjar Management is converting into a 48-unit market-rate apartment building, said he went away impressed with the project.

The $7.4 million project, called The Lofts of Lafayette, is scheduled for completion this summer.

And Roll the Dice LLC recently received ZBA approval to convert the former Sacred Heart Church on Linden Street, built in 1883 and shut down by the Fall River Diocese in 2014, into 46 market-rate units.

Redevelopment is underway at the former Lincoln Elementary School on Pine Street by Somerset developer Kenneth Mollicone, a project to create 24 units of housing. The building has sat empty for 14 years and withstood a failed redevelopment attempt by former owner David Hebert.

Monte Ferris Sr., owner of the Venus de Milo banquet hall in Swansea, also got the OK from the ZBA to convert the historically known First National Bank building at 80-84 N. Main St. into 22 units.

New owners of the former Academica building at 627 S. Main St., which operated as a private club for various organizations since 1890, have plans to redevelop the property into 11 apartments, with two units designated as affordable housing and space for a private club, according to city records.

Completed in 2022, local developer Alan Macomber converted the former Bradford Durfee College of Technology at 64 Durfee St. into 55 market-rate and affordable housing units called the Creative Class building, with a preference toward artists.

New construction and high-end apartments in the heart of downtown

The former Mackenzie and Winslow building at 577 Davol St. was torn down by developer Vitaly Fedosik to make way for a new mixed-use, 70-unit structure.

Local developer and businessman Bob Karam and Swansea-based BayCoast Bank partnered to redevelop the site of the former Davol Street Cafe at 697 Davol St. with a $12 million investment to build a six-story mixed-use building with 49 apartments and a bank branch on the lower floor.

Developer and city businessman Tony Cordeiro continues to create market-rate housing downtown, all within a four-block area from Third to Seventh Street and Bedford and Pleasant streets.

Cordeiro, who along with his partners, redeveloped the riverfront complex Commonwealth Landing, created 22 units of market-rate housing on Pleasant Street now known as the Benjamin and Nathan building and 18 more units at Trolley Square on Third Street.

He recently finished a complete overhaul of the former International Ladies Garment Workers' Union building on Third Street into 15 units of market-rate housing.

And in the pipeline, Cordeiro has expressed plans to construct two new apartment buildings. Site work has already begun at 60 Hartwell St., at the former National Grid Thomas Edison Light Station, to construct a six-story mixed-use building with 50 market-rate units and commercial space. At 295 Bedford St., across from the Salvation Army, he has another mixed-use construction that will include 72 market rate units.

And speaking of new market-rate housing, on the other side of the city in the North End, plans are in the works for the Four Winds Apartments to construct 200 more market-rate units.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River saw real estate, housing boom in 2023 thanks to MBTA rail