FALL RIVER ─ Three companies have submitted bids to become the designated developer for about 20 acres along the waterfront and the Route 79/Davol Street corridor, including one from Fall River.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) put out an invitation to bid back in July and opened the three proposals at noon on Wednesday.
Well-known local businessman Tony Cordeiro of Anthony Cordeiro Properties submitted a bid of $10.34 million; Mark Development and Wood Partners bid $13.97 million; and The Michaels Organization bid $15.2 million.
The bids will now be subject to MassDOT’s review of the bid proposal packages before selecting the designated developer.
When MassDOT announced the bidding on July 24, state officials said the site could hold more than 1,000 new homes, and Mayor Paul Coogan said the project could bring close to $1 billion in investment. The land sits next to Fall River’s commuter rail station, which opened in 2025. A master plan commissioned by the Fall River Redevelopment Authority calls for about 1,480 rental units, 61,000 square feet of commercial space and 2,200 parking spaces, and MassDOT will weigh how closely the bids match it.
Mark Development and Wood Partners, two national real estate developers, teamed up on the bid.
According to their website, Wood Partners has been involved in the acquisition and development of more than 115,000 multifamily homes with a combined capitalization of $24 billion. With its headquarters in Atlanta, GA, the company has a presence in 17 major markets, including Boston. It claims the company is consistently ranked as one of the largest multifamily developers in the country.
With offices in New York and Boston, Mark Development specializes in mixed-use and retail development, including numerous developments in Massachusetts.
Headquartered in Camden, NJ, The Michaels Organization is one of the country’s largest private-sector owners of affordable housing, according to the company’s website.
The company reportedly oversees more than $12 billion in assets and manages more than 75,000 units in nearly 600 communities in 39 states, Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands.
Cordeiro Properties has been developing residential and commercial properties in the city of Fall River since 1994, most notably co-redeveloping what is now Commonwealth Landing on Davol Street. Cordeiro has also been concentrating on the development of housing in the downtown area, with three new developments in progress on Bedford and Hartwell streets, in addition to eight other downtown properties the company has developed.
While the Route 79 project is solely under the control of MassDOT, Coogan said he was notified Wednesday of who the bidders were.
“We have three solid bidders with experience in both renovation and construction, so we’ll see what DOT comes up with,” said Coogan.
MassDOT did not respond to a request for information.
