Ground was broken last week on the first condominium community to be built in the greater Fall River area since 1995, and the first condominium community ever built in Somerset, Massachusetts.
The community, dubbed “The Meadows,” will be a 14-unit project with an open floor plan, 1,200 square feet of living space, two bedrooms, nine-foot vaulted ceilings, a one-car garage, and private deck. The units will all be single-story. It will be located in the north end of Somerset off Country Drive.
Beyond Cash Donations: How New Forms of Giving Are Transforming Not-for-Profit Accounting
Evolving Funding Landscape for Not-for-Profits Not-for-profit organizations are being asked to do more with less,…
Learn More
With financial backing from Fall River Five Cents Savings Bank and Slades Ferry Bank, developers Robert S. Karam and Michael Biszko, Jr. initiated the project last year. Andrew DiGiammo designed the structures and Master Builders Construction of Assonet will construct them. Karam expects to have the first of three buildings completed by October.
Karam said condominiums have been scarce in the greater Fall River area since the poor real estate climate in the 1980s. He said, to be safe, he and Biszko would make sure the need was there before constructing more units after the first three.
“We’ll walk before we run,” he said.
The units, which will sell for $189,000, will be located on the same land as North Farm Senior Estates, which is another Karam and Biszko project.
Karam said the market studies going into the project were extensive, and he and Biszko determined a need for area empty-nesters to live a more relaxing lifestyle, where they are not responsible for property management.
State Sen. Joan Menard, D-Fall River agreed.
“This is a real example of something that has been needed for a long time,” she said. “There are no condominiums in Somerset and those of us who have these big houses and are looking to downscale are always looking for beautiful places to live and this is a beautiful place to live.”
State Rep. Patricia Haddad, D-Somerset, who serves on the Bay State’s Human Services and Elderly Affairs committee, said the project is essential because seniors have more options now, with the North Farm Estates and the Meadows.
“I think the big important thing here is that we finally have a choice in Somerset,” she said, “a choice of where to live and how to live.”
Karam said the community banks were vital in making the Meadows happen.
“With community banks the decisions are still made locally,” he said. “They still make character loans.”
Senior Vice President of Fall River Savings Bank Tom Lyons said the bank’s participation in the project was not just based on Karam’s character, but that helped.
“We thought that if we were to do another condominium project there would have to be three criteria for us,” he said.
Those criteria included that the project have the right developer, be in the right location and the project itself would have to be the right project. The Meadows passed all tests with the bank.
Karam said the management of the Meadows is a top priority for him and Biszko. Kathy Torres, who manages North Farm Estates, will manage the condominiums as well. Karam said she will manage the relationship between the brokers and the property, which will not be exclusive to any broker, and there will be a 3 percent broker’s fee.
“The first thing we want to offer our buyers is a great on-site management team,” said Karam. “So it won’t be just selling you a unit and walking away. It will be people here to put flowers in the ground and cut the lawn.”
