Market Update: We break down the business implications, market impact, and expert insights related to Market Update: Fall River’s economy, job market fueled by housing, education sector – Full Analysis.
FALL RIVER — True to the city’s manufacturing and industrial roots, Fall River and the commercial talent it attracts are leaders in regional business markets — and Fall River is only getting stronger, Mayor Paul Coogan said in his 2026 State of Business luncheon.
The speech, delivered April 1 at the Fall River Country Club on North Main Street and hosted by One SouthCoast Chamber, attracted the ears of local and state delegates, community partners, and business leaders keen to hear an update of a city on the rise when it comes to Fall River’s commercial placement, priorities and strategy.
Fall River is “strong today,” Coogan said, “if not stronger than it was last year.” His message echoed themes of upward mobility and momentum from the State of the City address delivered last month.
The city holds over $24 million in stabilization funds and $40 million in reserves, said Coogan, with nearly $2.6 million in 2026 tax revenues. For the first time, Coogan said, the city finalized its Capital Improvement Plan, spanning fiscal 2027 to 2031. The plan is slated to not only improve the city’s infrastructure, but also improve the city’s financial reporting documents, budget books and quarterly reports.
Coogan said Fall River is set up for success in the realm of business because of its citizens, partners and lush network. In his brief remarks, Coogan defined a unique education-workforce pipeline where Fall River’s commercial talent is acquired at home, making the city out to be a destination for young professionals to live and work.
Here are four main points from his speech:
Schools: Fall River sees educational and economic growth
The city’s public schools have improved significantly, Coogan said. B.M.C. Durfee High School is no longer in the bottom 10% ranking of high schools in the state. Early College enrollment is up 34% in the last two years, Coogan said, with 97% of students earning college credit — and 88% of Durfee’s Early College class of 2025 is now enrolled in higher education.
Coogan said these improvements will “undoubtedly” yield a more prepared and “well-rounded” worker to be retained by local businesses, only adding to “growing momentum” for the city.
The city announced December 2025 that is “definitely considering” the purchase of the former Bishop Connolly High School, which could comfortably enroll 300 pre-K students.
At the other end of the educational spectrum, Northeastern University’s accelerated nursing program, housed on the fifth floor of the Durfee-Union Mills complex on Pleasant Street, has attracted college students to the SouthCoast where area hospitals benefit from an influx of clinical help.
Health care, said Coogan, is the city’s largest employment sector, accounting for over a third of all jobs. SouthCoast Health purchased waterfront land for a major expansion, on par “to create hundreds of new jobs in the coming years,” Coogan said. A recently brokered deal with Brown University Health has helped keep Saint Anne’s Hospital fully operational.
Manufacturing: Facilities are expanding
Fall River’s industrial presence remains unwavering, withseveral businesses eyeing expansions are gaining traction alongside companies growing into bigger facilities.
Gold Medal Bakery opened a 90,000-square-foot facility on Commerce Drive for the creation of production capabilities, and 30 to 50 jobs.
Taco Comfort Solutions completed a 52,000-square-foot expansion to double the size of its Fall River facility — a $20 million investment that promises 75 jobs over the next five years.
Ice Cube Cold Storage is banking on an 84,000-square-foot expansion in SouthCoast Life Science & Technology Park, with more than 40 jobs on the way, in line with a second facility. FreezePack Logistics has plans to open a 200,000-square-foot facility and bring 100 new jobs to the city. Invagen Pharmaceuticals is on track to introduce 70 jobs.
Infrastructure: Big ideas that fight blight, with billions on the way
The Route 79-Davol Street Improvement Project has completed, leaving finished roadways that curb the 21.55 acres of waterfront land worth billions in private sector development, Coogan said.
Fifteen new moorings and a dinghy dock are secured for the Thomas Norton City Pier and freshly graded Northfield Point — a spit of shoreline fenced off for decades — that will reopen to the public this year with a solar-lit walking path, Coogan said.
North Main and Purchase streets represent what has been deemed a “tight urban corner” that could be a destination for tourism and public engagement, especially in the wake of a continuing partnership with MassDevelopment’s Transformative Initiative, making the historic hub called “NoMa,” short for North Main, an attractive place to shop and dine.
Sidewalk improvements along Pleasant Street are being handled with a newly secured $1.6 million.
The city’s Community Development Agency has restored the facades of five Pleasant Street storefronts and is gearing up to tackle several more. Four major buildings, many of these historic assets worth preserving, are in the process of being rehabilitated, Coogan said, part and parcel of his initiative to “fight blight.”
Flint neighbors and Pleasant Street travelers will soon be greeted by the “iconic” neon owl sign soaring above the Nite Owl Diner, currently undergoing restoration.
Development: Net benefits for Fall River with housing and commercial
Coogan said96 new residential permits and 229 commercial permits were issued in 2025.
Multiple mill conversions, like the Globe Street mills and Charlton mills, alongside other notable developments like the former Sacred Heart Church on Linden Street, is projected to bring hundreds of market-rate rentals online.
Several other redevelopment projects are underway on Pleasant, Bedford, Rock, and Second streets, which are expected to bring 99 new housing units, 39 of which will be designated for affordable housing.
Coogan said he is “very, very proud” that the city has reclaimed — and resold — several vacant former school buildings from non-performing buyers that scooped them up for mere thousands.
The sale of the former Silvia, Lincoln and Davol Schools, Coogan said, has generated $533,000 in net income for the city.