FALL RIVER — Real estate mogul Anthony Cordeiro plans to add to his property portfolio downtown, replacing a former used car lot and an auto body shop with a five-story building on Bedford Street containing apartments and an adult day center.
The Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday granted two variances and three special permits to 295 Bedford Street LLC, a corporation owned by Cordeiro.
As planned, the project would occupy nearly half a block between Seventh and Eighth streets on Bedford Street. Replacing the two car-related businesses would be a 62-foot-high mixed-use building; inside, 52 market-rate apartments and commercial space.
What’s at the property on Bedford Street now?
Facing Bedford Street and along Eighth Street is a parking lot that until the mid-2000s was the home of used car dealer Paul Cantin, throughout the 1980s known as Cantin’s Clunkers. Cordeiro has used the site as parking since. At 50 Seventh St. is auto body shop Jeronimo’s Collision Center.
At the northeast corner of the block is 277 Bedford St., a small building home to three law offices; that building is a separate property not owned by Cordeiro.
The south half of the block is a private parking lot owned by PrimaCare.
What would the new apartment project look like?
The project would add a new building to Fall River’s skyline in a spot that for decades has seen largely asphalt.
Attorney Peter Saulino, representing Cordeiro’s company, told the ZBA the five-story building would contain an 8,000-square-foot adult day center on the first floor.
Floors 2 to 5 would contain four three-bedroom apartments, 13 two-bedroom units, and 35 one-bedroom units. They would be rented at market rate.
The project also features 74 parking spaces — one only for each apartment unit, 10 for the commercial space and another dozen for “overflow.” Per zoning rules, the project should have required 114 spaces.
The ZBA granted variances to allow the construction of apartments on the block, which is in a medical district, and narrower setbacks on Seventh and Eighth streets. The board also granted special permits to reduce the parking requirements, as well as setbacks and landscaping reductions.
Who will rent these market-rate apartments?
Ken Fiola, executive vice president of the Bristol County Economic Development Consultants, wrote in support of the project, saying it represented a more than $20 million investment in the area.
“Such an investment will have a positive quantitative impact on Bedford Street and for … the abutting neighborhood areas,” Fiola wrote.
Fiola wrote that the demand for market-rate housing remains high in Fall River, thanks to three types of renters: empty-nesters downsizing, young professionals moving into the city, and Fall Riverites upgrading to higher-quality apartments with better amenities than can be found in triple-deckers.
“The project, along with others, will help the community build and diversify its housing stock for economic development and enhance neighborhood stability,” he wrote.
“I think that this is a great proposal for the city,” Saulino said. “It’s consistent with my client’s other proposals in and around that area, and I think it would bring much-needed housing to that area.”
What else does Anthony Cordeiro own downtown?
The building would be within walking distance of a cluster of properties downtown also owned by Cordeiro, among them:
- The Bristol County Savings Bank Building, 215 Pleasant St., office space
- The MelCor Building, 191 Bedford St., professional and medical office space
- The Merrill Building, 66 Troy St., office space
- Trolley Square, 30 Third St., office space
- The Benjamin & Nathan Building, 170 Pleasant St., office space and market-rate apartments
- The Garment Worker’s Building, 38 Third St., market-rate apartments
- The Kay Building, 4 Hartwell St., office space
Cordeiro also owns property at 60 Hartwell St., where in 2024 he announced plans to build two high-rises with 102 market-rate apartments.
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