A plan to turn the Bank Street Armory into new apartments has collapsed. Here's why.
FALL RIVER — Despite a majority vote by the City Council to approve the sale and redevelopment of the Bank Street Armory, the proposed project failed on Tuesday because it did not receive the required two-thirds yes votes by the council to sell city-owned property.
The project, proposed by local developer Alan Macomber, had an uphill battle to win six out of nine votes. Two city councilors were missing from its recent meeting. Councilor Leo Pelletier has been out due to medical issues, which he addressed before heart surgery recently; Councilor Pam Laliberte was also absent.
In March, Macomber was the sole bidder for the property. He made an offer to purchase the castle-like structure, built in 1897 but in dire disrepair and shuttered since 2015, for $200,000 with a plan to convert it into 37 market-rate apartments. His proposal included a $13 million investment in the project.
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What's next for the Bank Street Armory proposal?
Mayor Paul Coogan has been attempting to redevelop the armory since taking office in 2019, having first worked with a developer to transform the aging building into an event center. That plan never panned out.
Coogan said Friday he’s not willing to give up on Macomber’s proposal.
“We are going to find a way to resubmit the plan,” said Coogan. “We believe we would have had the votes, but for whatever reason people couldn’t make the meeting.”
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It’s unclear how Laliberte would have voted. In a letter to fellow councilors read before the vote, Pelletier indicated that while he and others may not personally agree with the sale, it “would benefit the city of Fall River,” and noted the property has sat underused for eight years.
The city currently uses the armory as storage space.
“It is our responsibility to avoid another unused eyesore in this city. The former police station is a reflection of what the Bank Street Armory’s future may be with no action,” wrote Pelletier.
Doors closed in 2015: Bank Street Armory shuttered due to structural concerns
How much would it cost to fix the Bank Street Armory?
After the City Council delayed a decision on the armory in a previous meeting, the Council took up the issue Tuesday, voting 4-3 in favor of the sale and redevelopment, but which did not meet the legal threshold to sell the property.
In opposition were Council President Joe Camara and City Councilors Linda Pereira and Michelle Dionne.
Councilors Shawn Cadime, Brad Kilby, Laura Washington and Andrew Raposo voted in favor of the sale.
Pereira, who has been one of the council's most vocal opponents of the armory sale, spoke again about the potential for the city to keep and rehabilitate the property.
“This is the last piece of history that this city has, and you’re just going to let it be sold,” said Pereira. “I’m not saying you have to fix it in a year, but over the span of time, start fixing it up. The veterans will get their home to go back to. You can have events there.”
But where the money will come from to repair the armory is an issue.
After the city building inspector in April 2015 deemed the armory unsafe and structurally compromised, the city hired Starck Architects to determine the cost for repairs. At the time, the estimate was between $8 million and $9.5 million, which the city did not have to spare.
A more recent estimate, factoring in increased costs in the current market, increased that cost between $10 million and $12 million.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Housing plan for Fall River armory fails to win City Council votes
