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Trending developments march 2015
- 1. Fall River by the Numbers 3 TA Workshop 4 Fall Rivers Finest 4 Inside this issue: March 2015Volume 4, Issue 3 F A L L R I V E R O F F I C E O F E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T Trending Developments FROED Board of Directors: Officers Mayor C. Samuel Sutter, Chairman/Ex-officio Frank Marchione, President James M. Karam, Vice President Carlos A. DaCunha, Treasurer Alan F. Macomber, Clerk At-Large Members Joseph Baptista Paul C. Burke Francisco Cabral Nicholas M. Christ Robert Cooper Mark Cordeiro Larry Couto Bruce Fernandes Alfredo M. Franco Craig A. Jesiolowski Stephen R. Karam Michael Lund George Matouk, Jr. Paul S. Medeiros Joan Menard Kenneth R. Rezendes Anthony Riccitelli Joseph Ruggeiro, Sr. Ron Rusin James P. Sabra Len Sullivan Ex-Officio Members Joseph D. Camara Carl Garcia Craig A. Jesiolowski Atty. William G. Kenney Meg Mayo-Brown John J. Sbrega James Wallace Corporate Counsel Atty. James W. Clarkin Non-Voting Members Robert A. Mellion FROED Staff: Kenneth Fiola, Jr., Esq. Executive Vice President Janet A. Misturado, Director of Administration Louise A. Methot, Financial Services Representative Maria R. Doherty, Network Administrator Lynn M. Oliveira, Economic Development Coordinator Fall River Office of Economic Development One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722 Phone: (508) 324-2620 Fax: (508) 677-2840 http://froed.org The Amazon project slated for the Southcoast Life Sci- ence and Technology Park at Fall River is moving forward after a revised Tax Incre- ment Financing (TIF) Agree- ment was approved by the Fall River City Council on Tuesday, March 10, 2015. Amazon had initially intend- ed to locate a small item sortable facility in Fall Riv- er; however, after internal corporate analysis it was de- cided that the scope of the project would be altered to accommodate a large item facility at the Fall River lo- cation. As a result of this change, the project is now expected to include a minimum capital investment of $50 million and create 500 new, perma- nent full-time positions. The site location and size of the building have not changed. Amazon is still expected to construct a 1 million square foot facility. (Continued on page 2) Amazon Project Moving Forward Looking for a job? Visit froed.org then select the Current Employment Opportunities tab. Next click Job Search and this will launch an interactive database. Within this database alone there are currently 938 employment opportunities within a 5 mile radius of Fall River. 938 Jobs Available Governor Baker Meets with Fall River Representatives On Friday, March 6, 2015 Mayor C. Samuel Sutter and the Fall River Office of Eco- nomic Developments Exec- utive Vice President Kenneth Fiola, Jr. met with Governor Charlie Baker and Massa- chusetts Secretary of Hous- ing and Economic Develop- ment Jay Ash to discuss op- portunities and issues facing Fall River. The meeting covered a myri- ad of topics including the Amazon project and other development opportunities at the Southcoast Life Science and Technology Park at Fall River. The group then discussed the City Pier project which has DEP & EPA site assessment, testing and reporting as well as PCB remediation com- pleted to date. The site is to be developed for a private sector restaurant and 110- 125 slip marina for perma- nent and transient dockage. (Continued on page 2)
- 2. Page 2 Trending Developments (Continued from page 1) The revised TIF Agree- ment includes a tax ex- emption schedule that mirrors the exemption schedule in the original agreement and is sched- uled to commence on July 1, 2017. The fifteen year exemption schedule is as follows: FY18-FY21 100% exemption, FY22- FY24 75% exemption, FY25-FY28 50% exemp- tion and FY29-FY32 25% exemption. Beginning in FY33, Ama- zon will have to pay full tax value for their real and personal property. Because the values related to the tax exemptions are expressed in terms of per- centages, the value Ama- zon will receive from the TIF will decrease propor- tionately from the original (Continued from page 1) Moving forward the project needs $7.5 million to strengthen the City Pier seawalls, add three feet of fill to site to further sup- press PCB contamination and facilitate infrastructure improve- ments. The Chapter 91 License Application for this project is expected to be filed by March 30, 2015. Additionally, the Route 79 North project was presented noting the 477,000 s/f of office and retail space, 649 market rate residential units, and 1,300 new jobs to be created by the project. Mayor Sutter found congruity with the Governor and a similari- ty with certain issues affecting both Fall River and the state as a whole. Sutter also expressed his desire to foster a strong relation- ship with the Governor noting, The stronger the partnership between the mayors office and the governors office, it will clearly be a benefit to Fall River and I will continue to work on the relationship. Kenneth Fiola, Jr., Executive Vice President of the Fall River Office of Economic Develop- ment found the meeting to be very beneficial noting, The Governor and Secretary Ash were kind enough to give us more than an hour of their time to discuss economic develop- ment issues that are important to Fall River. Amazon Fulfillment Center savings projections based on the change in antici- pated investment. The TIF Agreement ap- proved by the Council is now slated to be brought before the Massachusetts Economic Assistance Coordinating Council at their March 24, 2015 meeting for approval. In addition to the local tax incentives that have been negotiated between Amazon and the City of Fall River, Amazon is also seeking tax relief on the state level through Investment Tax Credits. These Investment Tax Credits are being negoti- ated directly between Amazon and the Massa- chusetts Economic Assis- tance Coordinating Coun- cil. Above: Proposed Amazon Fulfillment Center Governor Baker Kenneth Fiola, Jr., Exec- utive Vice President of the Fall River Office of Economic Development is optimistic that the Amazon project is mov- ing forward noting, We are very pleased that Amazon has decided to continue with the estab- lishment of a fulfillment center in Fall River. Fiola went on to note, To the extent the state and Amazon can reach agreement with regard to incentives, the crea- tion of 500 new, perma- nent full-time positions and hundreds of part- time and seasonal posi- tions will act to improve Fall Rivers unemploy- ment picture. The TIF Agreement with the City holds Am- azon to a June 30, 2019 date to have at least 80% of the 500 new, perma- nent full-time jobs in place as well as the min- imum $50 million in- vestment made. Howev- er, despite these contract dates, it is expected that the facility will be oper- ational by late sum- early fall of 2016.
- 3. Page 3 Trending Developments Fall River by the Numbers First Ancestry Reported *Source: American Community Survey 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 New Bedford, MA First Ancestry Reported Total Population: 94,927 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 Fall River, MA First Ancestry Reported Total Population: 88,811
- 4. One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Phone: 508-324-2620 Fax: 508-677-2840 E-mail: info@froed.org Mission statement of the Fall River Office of Economic Development: Incorporated in 1978 as a 501(c)(4) corporation to promote the prosperity and general welfare of the citizens of Fall River through the stimulation of economic strength and expansion of new and existing business. Keeping Fall River working in Fall River. F A L L R I V E R O F F I C E O F E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T For more information please visit our website: www.froed.org Page 4 On Wednesday, March 18, 2015 the Fall River Office of Economic De- velopment will sponsor a technical assistance work- shop focused on social networks. There are so many social networks and so little time! This workshop will cover the basics of both personal and business accounts, highlighting the difference and how to best optimize the ac- counts. We will look at LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pin- terest and Google+. Join Tricia White, a local Social Media expert, for this fast paced and com- prehensive overview of social networks. This FREE event will be held on Wednesday, March 18, 2015 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Cherry & Webb Building, 139 South Main Street, 4th floor, Fall Riv- er, MA and is sponsored by the Fall River Office of Economic Develop- ment. Space is limited, so please register on line at www.msbdc.org/semass and click on event calen- dar or call us at 508-673- 9783 x10. Funded in part through a coop- erative agreement with the U. S. Small Business Administra- tion. Frank Allen Wilcox was born in 1869 to Benjamin Wilcox and Lydia Howland Allen Wilcox. Wilcox attended local Fall River Schools in- cluding BMC Durfee High School before enrolling in the US Military Academy at West Point. Wilcox was the first person from the Fall River area to graduate from the Academy. Wilcox was a career military man. After graduating West Point, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant and was stationed in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. During his Philippine tour of duty he was promoted to the rank of major. Upon return to the U.S. Wilcox was named second in command at West Point. In 1914 the US entered World War I and Wilcox was promoted to lieutenant colo- nel and sent to France to Social Network Basics for Business serve with General Black Jack Pershing. Wilcox was then quickly promoted to full colonel in Pershings staff. Wilcox had previously served with Pershing and George S. Patton as they pursued Pancho Villa in Mexico. In 1918 Wilcox died in France of virulent pneumo- nia at the age of forty-nine. Wilcox is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery. Until the turn of the century, local veterans gathered peri- odically at the American Le- gion Frank Allen Wilcox Post 126 on Bedford Street in Fall River. In 1934, a monument was dedicated in his honor on Plymouth Ave- nue. (Source: Cream of the CropFall Rivers Best and Brightest by John B. Cummings Jr.)(Article contributed by MSBDC) Fall Rivers Finest: Frank Allen Wilcox