Inside this issue:

November 2014 Volume 3, Issue 11

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 William A Flanagan, 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 Jerry Donovan Bruce Fernandes Alfredo M. Franco Craig A. Jesiolowski Stephen R. Karam Michael Lund Joseph A. Marshall 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 Valarie Lacasse, Microloan Coordinator/Technical Assistance Specialist

Fall River by the Numbers

3

TA Workshop 4

Fall River’s Finest 4

Fall River Office of

Economic Development

One Government Center

Fall River, MA 02722

Phone: (508) 324-2620

Fax: (508) 677-2840

http://froed.org

On October 23, 2014, Ama-

zon Vice President Michael

Grilla sent a letter of intent

to the Mayor of Fall River,

William Flanagan expressing

Amazon’s interest in ex-

panding its fulfillment net-

work to include a facility in

Fall River.

Amazon.com, a Seattle

based company that opened

on the World Wide Web in

July 1995, considers itself to

offer “Earth’s Biggest Selec-

tion.” To that end Amazon

seeks to be Earth’s most cus-

tomer-centric company,

where customers can find

and discover anything they

might want to buy online,

and endeavors to offer cus-

tomers the lowest possible

prices as declared in the

company’s letter of intent.

Amazon and partner sellers

offer millions of new and

used items in a myriad of

categories including Books;

Movies, Music & Games;

Digital Downloads; Elec-

tronics & Computers; Home

& Garden; Toys, Kids &

Baby; Grocery; Apparel,

Shoes & Jewelry; Health &

Beauty; Sports & Outdoors;

and Tools, Auto & Industri-

al.

The proposed expansion to

Amazon’s fulfillment net-

work would include a

1,000,000+ square foot sort-

able fulfillment center in Fall

River to be constructed in

the Southcoast Life Science

& Technology Park at Fall

River. The facility would

(Continued on page 2)

Amazon Interested in Fall River Location

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 618

employment

opportunities within a 5

mile radius of Fall River.

618 Jobs

Available

Above: Recently constructed Amazon fulfillment center in Robbinsville, New

Jersey is similar in size and scope to the facility proposed in Fall River

Page 2

Trending Developments

Above: Proposed 1,000,000+ square foot Amazon Distribution Center to be located at the Southcoast Life Science

and Technology Park at Fall River

(Continued from page 1)

be completed in the sec-

ond half of 2016. The

total capital investment for

constructing and equip-

ping the facility would

exceed $200 million.

During the first three years

of operation, Amazon ex-

pects to create 1,000 new

full-time jobs with an av-

erage annual income of

$35,000 or greater along

with comprehensive health

benefits. In addition, the

project would create hun-

dreds of part-time and

temporary positions.

TIF package that gives

Amazon a 100% real and

personal property exemp-

tion from 2018 through

2021, 75% from 2022

through 2024, 50% from

2025 through 2028 and

25% from 2029 through

2032.

Kenneth Fiola, Jr., Exec-

utive Vice President of

the Fall River Office of

Economic Development

has been working to re-

cruit Amazon to Fall Riv-

er since May 2012 and is

pleased to see the project

move towards a mutual

commitment noting, “To

have an industry giant

like Amazon expand their

facility network to in-

clude a Fall River loca-

tion would be a huge vic-

tory for not only Fall Riv-

er, but also the surround-

ing community through

job creation and invest-

ment in the region.”

The Fall River City

Council will hold a spe-

cial meeting on Thursday,

November 13, 2014 to

discuss the proposed TIF

Agreement.

Amazon Fulfillment Center in Fall River

As a financial component

of the overall project,

Amazon will pursue tax

incentives through the

Massachusetts Economic

Development Incentive

Program (EDIP).

Based on Amazon’s pro-

jections of investing $200

million to build the

1,000,000+ square foot

facility and create 1,000

new full-time positions as

well as hundreds of part-

time and temporary jobs,

the City of Fall River’s

Tax Increment Financing

(TIF) Board unanimously

approved a scaled 15 year

Page 3

Trending Developments

Fall River by the Numbers…

City Population Tax Levy Res/Tax Rate CIP/Tax Rate

Fall River 88,945 $82,626,391 12.58 26.68

New Bedford 94,929 $96,683,927 15.16 31.08

Brockton 94,094 $116,740,839 18.13 33.96

Lawrence 77,326 $57,458,735 15.61 33.70

Lowell 108,522 $110,425,644 15.14 31.75

Springfield 153,552 $172,956,972 19.71 39.04

Worcester 182,669 $250,839,631 19.54 30.83

Lynn 91,253 $108,037,166 17.13 34.81

Quincy 93,027 $190,573,315 14.86 31.23

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

(Article contributed by

MSBDC)

Your competitive edge is

linked to your ability to

rapidly deploy effective

business solutions.

This presentation will pro-

vide an overview of Lean’s

innovative system and

proven methodology used

to drive sustainable, con-

tinuous improvement and

give your business the

competitive edge while

improving the bottom line.

The reality of business

today is companies with

high-quality goods and

services will thrive. Com-

panies which are less effi-

cient than their competitors

will perish. Lean is an

operational philosophy

used to achieve continual

gains in productivity while

satisfying customer’s

expectations for quality

and prompt delivery. The

key principle of Lean is

that waste is the underlying

driver of inefficiency. By

identifying and eliminating

waste, companies can re-

duce their costs, secure

profits and meet

customer’s expectations…

surviving and thriving in

today’s difficult climate.

This FREE event will be

held on Wednesday,

November 19, 2014 from

4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at

the Cherry & Webb Build-

ing, 139 South Main

Street, 4th floor, Fall

River, MA and is spon-

sored by the Fall River

Office of Economic Devel-

opment.

Space is limited, so please

register on line at

www.msbdc.org/semass

and click on event calendar

or call us at 508-673-9783

x10.

Funded in part through a coop-erative agreement with the U. S. Small Business Administra-tion.

Maude Darling-Parlin was

born in 1885 and became a

pioneer in the architect world

that was largely dominated by

men. After attending local

Fall River Schools, Darling-

Parlin went on to study at the

Massachusetts Institute of

Technology and the Pratt In-

stitute.

Upon graduation Darling-

Parlin began working for her

father’s firm and then founded

a firm with her brother to cre-

ate Darling-Parlin. At a time

when women architects were

relegated to designing only

residential buildings, Darling-

Parlin created many impres-

sive non-residential structures

in and around Fall River.

In 1916, Darling-Parlin de-

signed the Buffington Build-

ing, a massive five-story

structure located on Purchase

Street at Bedford Street. Her

firm also designed the Art

Deco style limestone building

located on Bedford Street for

the Fall River Cooperative

Bank, a structure that still

LEAN - Not Just for Manufacturing Anymore

stands today. Darling-Parlin is

also responsible for the Classi-

cal Revival-style three story

Fall River Trust Company

Bank building on Main Street.

Darling-Parlin was also re-

cruited to design the Women’s

Union Building on Rock

Street, which later housed the

United Way and today is home

of the Family Service Associa-

tion. She also put her touch on

the YMCA building located on

North Main Street. In total her

legacy included impressive

buildings, theaters, churches

and more than 100 Fall River

homes.

In her personal life she married

her MIT classmate Ray Parlin

and had three daughters. Dar-

ling-Parlin passed away in

1979 at age ninety-three.

(Source: “Cream of the Crop—Fall

River’s Best and Brightest” by John

B. Cummings Jr.)

Fall River’s Finest: Maude Darling-Parlin