Fall River City Council approves agreement for sale of old police station

The City of Fall River may have finally gotten rid of the old police station once and for all.

At Tuesday’s Fall River City Council meeting, potential buyer Marc Lederman of Chelsea based Wethersfield LLC and attorney Matthew Thomas went in front of the Council prior to their vote to approve the purchase and sales agreement of the property at 158 Bedford Street.

Lederman, who is purchasing the property from the City for $10,000, plans on putting in 5-6 million dollars into the location to create 30 market rate housing apartments.

Lederman has plans to keep the façade of the structure, and when asked by City Council President Cliff Ponte, Lederman stated that the construction would take approximately 1-1 1/2 years once the property closes.

The City has been trying to sell the building for years as the property has accumulated $80,000 in penalties and taxes.

When the issue of parking arose, City Councilor Linda Pereira suggested to Lederman that he could possibly buy a condemned home that is for sale in the back of the property. There is also a strip of land in between the two locations that is owned by Re-Creation.

Councilor Trott Lee requested that Lederman issue a preference for veterans for some of the apartments at the strictly residential project and Lederman agreed.

The agreement must be finalized by December 31st.

The Council unanimously approved the sale.