MassDevelopment announces hire aimed at helping Fall River grow downtown, stimulate economic growth

FALL RIVER, Mass. – MassDevelopment today announced the hiring of a new Transformative Development Initiative Fellow, Nick Schonberger, who will work full-time in the Fall River TDI District for the next year. Nick joins an existing cohort of TDI fellows who currently work in TDI districts in Attleboro, Barnstable (Hyannis), Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Revere, Springfield, Taunton, and Worcester.

“Downtown Fall River is home to vibrant businesses, diverse cultural institutions, and hard-working people building a stronger community,” said MassDevelopment Deputy Director and Senior Executive Vice President Marcos Marrero. “Since 2019, MassDevelopment has been working with local leaders, businesses, and nonprofits to provide small business assistance and bolster the local economy through the Transformative Development Initiative (TDI). We are pleased to bring on Nick Schonberger, who over the next year will work with city leaders and help key partners – including Viva Fall River, the Fall River Arts and Culture Coalition, and the Fall River Museum of Contemporary Art, among others – to continue to grow and plan for the future.”

“We warmly welcome Nick to the City’s economic development team and appreciate the opportunity to have another TDI fellow assisting with economic growth in the downtown area,” said Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan. “They are truly making a difference in helping plan all our downtown efforts.”

The Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) is MassDevelopment’s signature place-based economic development program for Gateway City downtowns and commercial districts. TDI uses an accelerator model, committing intensive resources for a defined period to real estate development, small business stability and growth, arts and cultural amenities, placemaking, and targeted technical assistance and strategic planning. This work is laid on a platform of community engagement and partnership development; the agency requires that cities assemble a cross-sector partnership to apply, and over the course of the program works to make the partnership more representative of the neighborhood and use it as a platform to grow sustaining, working relationships. Since 2015, MassDevelopment has invested $38 million in TDI districts through tools such as technical assistance, real estate investments, grant programs, and fellows who work in the districts. That investment has directly influenced over $151.3 million in public and private investments in the districts, and assisted in securing an additional $241.2 million. Injecting social and financial capital in TDI districts generates a multiplier effect, circulating resources locally, which ultimately stimulates further economic activity in Gateway Cities.

Before joining MassDevelopment, Nick served as Senior Entrepreneurship Program Manager at CommonWealth Kitchen, leading educational programming and business development assistance for 50-plus food businesses. He previously served as Economic Development Planner for the City of Somerville, supporting real estate, business, and workforce development initiatives throughout the city. Nick has a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology from Northeastern University.

MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2024, MassDevelopment financed or managed 349 projects generating investment of more than $3.5 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 22,426 jobs and build or preserve 1,754 housing units.