Once the nation’s textile capital – an industry that moved south and overseas – Fall River is finding new life in a diversified economy that has seen its unemployment drop from a high of 19 percent in 1991 to just 3.9 percent nearly a decade later. The exodus of the textile industry moved local officials to develop a plan to diversify the city’s economy, development of tax and other incentives to attract new development from existing and new companies.
Today, officials at the Fall River Office of Economic Development (FROED) believe their plan has been successfully implemented. The unemployment rate has dropped to a record low of 3.9 percent, a once defunct municipal airport has been renovated to become a business hub, the city has experienced significant growth among its existing business, and more than four new companies have moved into the area in the last year.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
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“Traditionally, Fall River’s weak points had been an over-dependence on the manufacturing and apparel industries,” said Ken Fiola Jr., executive vice president of FROED. “We realized we needed to embark on a strategic plan that called for the diversification of our industrial base creating more jobs, while at the same time preserving the manufacturing jobs that remained.”
“Simply said, we realized we couldn’t put all our eggs in one basket anymore,” said Joe Raposo, director of business development at FROED.
Raposo and Fiola agree that marketing Fall River’s location, and “business friendly characteristics, are important to the city’s economic success.
“We are only 20 minutes from Providence, 50 miles from Boston and three and half hours from New York. We have access to airports, and a deep water harbor port which makes us convenient for a wide range of businesses,” Raposo.
But location is only half the battle. Finding enough real estate space for companies both large and small has become one of FROED’s specialties. According to Fiola within the next year and half, the city will have close to 600 developable acres. Part of that acreage comes from the conversion of a space once used as a municipal airport.
“It was a tough decision for the city to make,” Raposo said. “But already we have two projects in the works for that space. The AJ Wright chain, which will employ 500 will open its doors later this year, and Main Street Textiles is opening a 565,000 square foot facility that over time will create 535 new jobs.”
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Creating new uses for old buildings has also created new industries for the Fall River economy. Thirteen years after hundreds of jobs were lost when a fire reduced the Kerr Mill Complex on Martine Street to ashes, the ground is once again being primed for business – only this time it’s high tech.
The 600,000 square foot, $19 million Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center, which is expected to open next year, will be the anchor of a new 33-acre technology park.
Fiola said making the city an attractive destination for new businesses can only be done by strengthening companies already a part of the area – a task that has been left up to a certain facet of FROED – the business retention division,
“We aren’t smoke stack chasers, we needed to encourage growth from within,” he said. “We realize that we need to work with business owners to help them be successful.”
Earlier this spring, the city welcomed AA Precision Machine Company to the Fall River Industrial Park. AA Precision, a machine shop that serves both the rubber and plastic industries was opened in Fall River in 1996.
“It was important to us that we remain in Fall River,” said Arthur J. Arruda, owner of AA Precision Machine Company. “We’ve established many relationships over the years, including a great partnership with Diman (Regional Vocational Technical High School.) The workforce here is outstanding and with this new building I think we’ll get people who are working outside the city to come back here, to work where they live.”
For Arruda, the expansion of his business was the direct result of a Tax Increment Financing Program (TIF) from the city and a low-interest loan from FROED.
“Without the support of the mayor and the city council with TIF, the loans from the bank, and the Office of Economic Development, and help from the Development Corporation, we would not be here today,” Arruda said. “This project never would have happened.”
David J. DeMello, owner of Arctic Cold and Storage LLC. of New Bedford, was drawn to Fall River because of its “business-friendly” atmosphere, as well as because of its incentives like TIF. The creation of a new location comes with a price tax of close to $2.6 million. “I chose Fall River because the city was outstanding and willing to work with us, both through tax breaks, and with the power company,” he said. “We took advantage of low-interest loans, we were shown various properties and given a five-year tax-incentive program. The power company was outstanding to work with. We expect 11 new jobs, and if we run the third shift like we plan to, it could be even more.”
Fiola said it’s the business community, and business owners like DeMello and Arruda that has drawn and will continue to attract even more companies to the area.
“Over the last four to five years, Fall River has developed a real pro-business environment,” he said. “The business community, company owners, and CEOs are networking with each other and talking about us. The word is spreading rapidly.”
