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Work begins on new apartment buildings coming to Somerset

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Work began this week on the parcel of land that will eventually be home to 120 new apartments in the town of Somerset.

It’s the latest in the development of the G.A.R Highway property known as the Fairfield Commons that is owned by developer Marc Landry. In 2020, the Fairfield Inn and Suites opened just after the start of COVID, with a Starbucks added to the location soon after. Since then, a Pancheros Mexican Grill and a Jersey Mike’s have joined the retail space and plans for a Chic-fil-a were approved earlier this year.

The two buildings being built for housing will include 66 1-bedroom units, 42 2-bedroom units and 12 3-bedroom units and will be a part of the state 40B program.

According to MassHousing:

“40B, the Commonwealth’s regional planning law, promotes responsible housing growth by creating a streamlined permitting process for eligible projects that utilize subsidized financing, and that meaningfully accommodate lower-income residents.”

With 25% of the rental units allocated for subsidized housing through the 40B program, the new build will offer at least some relief for those struggling to find affordable housing. Landry himself previously stated that it was a lack of affordable housing that made him decide on building the apartment complex over a medical building.

Biswas LLC is the most recent developer to add rental units to the single-family home dominate town of Somerset. The company transformed the former Wilbur Elementary School into 15 apartments last fall. According to the 2020 US Census, approximately 83% of all housing units in Somerset are owner occupied.

Primary correspondent for the Greater Fall River area, Jess focuses on human interest stories and investigations into political corruption. She is a former fill-in host and digital contributor at The Howie Carr Show, former host of The Jessica Machado Show and SouthCoast Tonight on WBSM in New Bedford, former blogger at The Herald News and a former fill-in host at WSAR in Fall River.

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16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. Joseph

    May 16, 2024 at 12:28 pm

    I

  2. Whatever

    May 16, 2024 at 12:48 pm

    Subsidize housing. 🙃. I’m not paying big bucks for something that someone next door is getting subsidized. Go figure on that one.

    • Pathetic

      May 16, 2024 at 2:23 pm

      Slowly turning Somerset into Fall River by building subsidized housing bringing the riff raff from the City to the suburbs all while tax payers in Somerset pay for their housing.

      • Ken Paiva

        May 16, 2024 at 2:45 pm

        We know. Fall River is supposed to take all of Somerset’s homeless and low income and treat all of Somerset’s addicts. The town has made that clear. It is great that Fall River does it but it’s about time neighboring towns do their part.

        • Carol

          May 17, 2024 at 8:39 am

          People that own single family homes are hard working people that have paid into the system and are not on welfare. Somerset owners pay very high taxes and very high water bills and it is not fair to us that people that never paid into the system, never worked and we the tax payer have supported all of there lives now come live in Somerset to trash our town like they have done to Fall River. I remember when Fall River was a nice city and a good place to live until the affordable housing started in the 90’s and they sent all the people on welfare from Boston to destroy Fall River. The Biden Administration is destroying our country! We the people need to vote all these corrupt people out of office in November!

          • Anonymous

            May 18, 2024 at 9:38 am

            First of all don’t you dare lassie people that are on subsided housing are bad. I’m a home care aide in the surrounding city’s and its ok for to care for those rich families parents and grand parents but it’s not ok for me to have great place to live. Boy dint ever need someone like me. Jerk.

          • Christine K

            May 23, 2024 at 1:30 am

            Not everyone in Somerset is so perfect. I have lived in this town my whole life. There is good and bad everywhere. There are drug addicts everywhere. Not every single person who gets some assistance does not work and pay taxes! There are plenty of single mom’s/dad’s or two parent households that fall into being below the poverty line. I have also seen so many hard working people end up loosing their jobs and not being able to afford their bills. This could happen to you. Please be careful what you say about others. You have no idea what others are really going through. By the way I am a single Mom who works very hard. I am blessed to be able to afford to live in Somerset but I also never ever forget that could be taking away tomorrow.

          • Ssmith

            July 15, 2024 at 9:04 am

            Seems like Fallriver’s downfall have been going on for decades.

        • Denise

          May 17, 2024 at 12:14 pm

          We do… through our state taxes…

        • Michellesole70

          May 17, 2024 at 7:18 pm

          Excellent comment Mr Paiva! A LOT of people living in Somerset are living in some kind of cloud. They don’t seem to deal in facts, they just make it all up and its always Bidens fault! Its all sooo friggin shameful!Furthermore, It’s always the ONES that most likely forgot where they came from. Like you said, no addiction services, no hospitals, and if it could get any worse for a new home owner like myself in Somerset, the rat population is disgustingly overwhelming! Town officials should feel absolutely ashamed of themselves! I taken out over 30 in 1 month myself. I can’t wait to move out of here!

  3. Denise

    May 16, 2024 at 3:47 pm

    This is a promise made by the Biden administration to override single-family zoning laws. Just a matter of time.!

  4. Ham

    May 17, 2024 at 7:17 am

    Reason why Westport is fighting against water and sewer line being made on Route 6.
    Others have different motivation.

  5. Cynthia

    May 17, 2024 at 8:38 am

    Are these apartments already taken?

    • Margaret C McKim

      May 17, 2024 at 11:06 am

      Will I bs able to move into one of these apartments when they are completed< if I am living in a Sec 8 apartment at the time of completion? Right now I am homeless and on rhe waiting list.

  6. Beth

    May 19, 2024 at 10:08 pm

    Well, remember what they say..Some-R-Set, Some-R-Not. I feel if you move to a community where it’s all single family homes, it should stay that way, or lower the prices. However, some need to remember that live in Somerset, most families started off in Fall River, they seem to forget that. Lately the biggest drug raids or molesters and drunk drivers all come from Somerset, so stop being snooty. Some of you produce the biggest losers that Fall River gets stuck with. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones across the river, smh.

  7. Jeannine

    August 9, 2024 at 8:11 pm

    My husband and I are Seniors who live in a single family home, but have gotten to old to keep it up. There are no affordable apartments for us. Will these apartments be affordable for Seniors who are retired and live on social security with just a bit more income to keep us off the low income bracket.

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