FROED One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Tel 508-324-2620 Fax 508-677-2840 info@froed.org		COUNCIL GRANTS HARTWELL COMMONS A FIVE-YEAR TAX INCENTIVE The Herald News, Friday, September 26, 2008 - Page B1 Fall River — The City Council this week unanimously approved tax breaks worth $209,000 over five years for developers of Hartwell Commons, a $6.3 million commercial project expected to bring 76 part-time and full-time jobs after its spring completion. The tax increment financing, as proposed by Fall River Office of Economic Development Executive Vice President Kenneth J. Fiola Jr., had support of Mayor Robert Correia and the TIF board. “I think it’s a great opportunity for us,” council Vice President Pat Casey said after a presentation by Fiola Tuesday night. Casey, like other councilors, cited jobs and taxes, and said they’re particularly helpful “when times are tough.” Under the five-year sliding tax incentive, Fiola said the city collects nearly the same taxes ($207,500). The tax breaks slide from 100 percent the first year to 75, 50 and 25 percent in the three subsequent years and 1 percent after that. It would generate about $83,000 a year afterwards. The four-acre development at the long-vacant former Luther Manufacturing mill complex is under construction at the corner of Rodman Street and “qualifies as a strong and beneficial project,” Correia wrote in his endorsement. The commercial area next to Walgreens qualifies under the city’s Interstate 195 economic opportunity area corridor. The TIF requires final approval by the Massachusetts Economic Assistance Coordinating Council. The developers, Catahoula Corp. owned by Attleboro brothers Frank and Nick Marchione, would see at least $240,000 in state tax benefits. That’s based upon 5 percent investment tax credits on construction and equipment when the project’s built and for the five-year TIF period after state approval, Fiola said. Their project investment listed on the TIF application includes $3.8 million for construction costs and $1 million for equipment, along with $1.3 million for land purchase not eligible for state tax credits. The build-out totals 21,800 square feet for a gas station/convenience store/donut shop/Chinese takeout restaurant in one building, car wash in a second and large-scale liquor store in a third. By the spring, it should bring 22 full-time and 54 part-time jobs: pay for five managers whose salaries range from $31,200 to $44,200; nine hourly cooks at $12-15 hourly; nine car wash attendants at $10-15 hourly; and about 40 clerks with ranges of $8-10 and $10-14 hourly, according to the application. The Marchiones show a successful track record in the city, including the gas station/convenience store at Globe Four Corners, Fiola said. The developer is slated to spend $200,000 to install a traffic light at the busy Rodman/Hartwell intersection that now has two-way stop signs. The council also approved deeding of a small parcel from Catahoula to widen turning from Roadman Street northbound onto Hartwell Street to improve traffic flows. Marchione said he expected the 4,000 square-foot gas station and convenience store building to be ready by November and “everything to be done by Memorial Day.” City councilors Leo O. Pelletier and Steven A. Camara said that despite concerns expressed by some residents and management at adjacent Tecumseh Mills Apartments over the wine and liquor store, the project benefits the neighborhood and city. Pelletier called the old mill and empty lot “a blight. It just sat there and sat there,” he said. (The Marchiones had the mill torn down.) Camara, asking Fiola to recount the starts and stops to develop it, said, “This is a project long overdue.” Several councilors commended the TIF board for limiting the tax breaks to five years — not 10 or 20 years as had been done before. The project is subject to about $6,000 a year in stormwater/CSO fees, according to Councilor Raymond E. Hague. Back