7.8.2025 City Council - Committee on Real Estate

Committee in real estate will come to order. Call the role, please. Council here here.

Gildy here.

Pursuant to the open meeting law, any person may make an audio or video of this recording public of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium. Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unpersceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.

So, first item we have citizens input.

Um, I believe there was one individual, uh, Alexander Silva, 148 Purchase Street, and the subject is a Sylvia school. Please have a seat, Mr.

Sylvia.

Hello.

Hi.

Hi. Alexander Silva, 148 Purchase Street, president of the board of directors of the Preservation Society of Fall River. Um, so I just wanted to uh kind of I guess see what uh is spoken about today regarding the RFP for the Sylvia School and what the city's um intention I guess for the property is. Um just kind of with the background knowledge that uh the preservation society um had been

previously speaking with former city admin um Seth Aken uh regarding some suggestions to the R the previous RFP that was released in October 20 uh 2024.

That's the one I have. Um, and we had sent in some suggested some suggested edits. Um, I don't know if those were incorporated in the new RFP. That was kind of my main question um that I wanted to see here tonight. Um, it wasn't anything major. Um like there was some uh like you know grammar stuff, but essentially like some of the main changes were just changing the language uh to kind of open up affordable housing

as a possible development opportunity with some of the financial incentives that would go with that. Um which wasn't in the previous proposal as long as as well as some uh information regarding on like alternatives to parking that would help the successful redevelopment of the property. Um, all of this was done uh before the fire just uh destroyed and the eventual demolition of half of the

property. Um, so that's why I'm unsure uh is to the cont I haven't seen the new RFP, so I'm unsure uh if it's, you know, geared towards redevelopment or not. Um, but like the preservation society had we we met with the mayor actually the day before the fire and we presented some uh grant grant funding sources for brownfield remediation. um when we were kind of pitching that the city could uh

take on remediation itself before selling it to kind of increase the odds of redevelopment and the value to the city. Um so just not knowing if our suggested edits were incorporated. I have them if you want to look at them. I emailed um Alivera today uh just because I didn't know if he was the one handling the RFP or not. So um just happy to pass those along if interested.

Thank you sir. Hopefully your questions will be answered tonight with the people we have here. Thank you for your time, Alex.

No, no one else.

Okay, so uh next number two, we have the minutes of the July I'm sorry, March 25th.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Motion to approve has been made and seconded. All in favor?

I.

So voted. And number three, uh, mayor in request from interimm purchasing agent uh, for review of request for proposals related to the sale um, of the site, the former Sylvia school, annex school and referred on 62425.

We uh, asked for a real prompt uh, meeting knowing um, you know how many issues that we've been dealing with that school over the years. So, um, that's all I have to say right now and I'll have a comment at the end, but, uh, I would like, uh, individuals invited, please approach the agent, Rebecca, our assistant district, uh, uh, legal counsel at this time. Is there any further questions? We may ask the applicant to

come down, but not at this time.

If he would like to, please do, please do.

Would the applicant like to come down now?

My name is Jazzy Corduro.

Could we go from uh left to uh to right, please, and just identify yourself?

Dennis Dola. I'm the property manager for Gadero Properties.

Anthony Cordiero from the buyer hopefully.

Good evening committee assistant corporation councel Kenneth interm um purchase agent Rebecca Pants.

Okay. Well um I think it's appropriate maybe to have the applicant Mr. Cado if you speak into the microphone if do you have anything to say to this committee with regard to the uh purchase. Yes. Well first of all do we have to No, it hasn't been tabled. is the first time before us. Were you going to say something called curve?

Yeah. When they're going to open Yeah. the bids.

I have to give you guys the development.

Okay. My error. My error. So, let's begin, please, with the purchasing agent and have her explain the process. And I know the last uh request that we had ran into some some procedural issues. So, I think it's important for the public to know what has occurred here. And um I resealed these. So I open these to examine to make sure that it is actually a valid bid before we waste anybody's

time to make sure it is he to make sure it is a a responsible and responsive bidder. So just for um transparency this the developmental proposals have been opened. Okay.

Um just a question. So for tonight the expectation is just to refer to the propos what do we call it proposal review team.

Yeah. Yes. And then at that point you're going to do the evaluation criteria that was outlined in the the bid.

Yeah. So I have provided you guys a copy of the developmental proposal here. You also have the um a copy of the RFP and the um and the I isolated just the evaluation criteria. This is a little different. We obviously um we're not comparing it against another proposal because we only have received the one proposal. Um but it does meet all of the procurement requirements to be evaluated. That that part of it has been

done. Um, so I'm gonna um pass you a copy of the developmental proposal um by Thomas um Alva Edison Building LLC.

I don't think we need a copy of yours.

Do you want to um go through Do you want to go through the um so the procedures today? Yeah.

Okay. Um and good evening again committee. Um thank you for having me here. The um so uh the first thing legal does is assess whether the schedule uh for the uh submission of of RFPs were done correctly and they they absolutely were. There's a uh time frame that started the issuance on uh May 5th, 2025. There was an on-site tour offered for anybody who wanted to see the uh the

building at that time on uh May 12th. Uh deadline for questions May 27th.

Deadline for proposals was Friday, June 6th. And we did during that time frame receive a single proposal. Um and this is where I give credit to Rebecca who's done a great deal of work uh to make sure that all this has been done. The R as the RFP, uh anyone who read it became aware that there would be a proposal review team uh made up of the following.

It consists of the mayor's chief of staff, city engineer, executive director of community development, chairperson of the city of former historical commission. Um, and then there's a parenthesis now because as the building was demolished, uh, that seems to have been waved as a requirement. Uh, the chairperson of the city council real estate committee and one additional member of the city council real estate

committee as selected by the chairperson. So, we are at that stage.

the the there there's absolutely been compliance with the uh laws of Massachusetts as well any uh local requirements in regards to the RFP process. Um I think it's important for the public to understand while we may have received one proposal uh and hopefully it's not an insulting term to Mr. Cado. We're not stuck with it. If for some reason this proposal review committee team got together and

decided there was something uh and it can be anything from prior credit ratings, prior history of of issues regarding the work and I don't think any of these things confront uh Mr.

Cordiero, but um the the city needs the city if if interested should know that there is the ability to uh to say no and we have to go through this.

So um any questions so far? I mean I I think this is clear what our duty is here to do tonight.

Yeah.

Um I wanted Mr. Cabo come down as a courtesy. I don't really think unless you want to hear something from him at this point.

my vision.

I'd like to I'd like to hear I would like to hear what the vision is.

I see there's plenty of parking spaces.

Mr. Guro, you're on.

So, we're chasing the dream.

We're not chasing money anymore. And it's it's hard to believe, but we are doing 295 Beford Street.

We're beginning on August 15th. That's a $22 million project. We're going to change that area.

We're going to change that area. It's going to look beautiful. And Dennis has been a gift. He's my friend 55 years. He knows his skills. So, he takes me out.

He handles that. I handle the financing.

We're going to spend $22 million there.

You know, we have 102 units set up to be built at uh the old Thomas Edison building. We're going to begin that. We just asked for an extension. We got it again, but we're going to begin that.

house, a an ery, a hair salon, a bath and whatever, a coffee shop. And now the city doesn't die at night, Brad. I have been there 33 years, bro. At night time when I used to leave, it was black. Once we lived at 4:30 and in winter time, there was no lights. walk there today and tell me what you see. You see people walking their dogs. They're walking.

They're living there. They're spending money at hopefully. That's the dream, bro. That's the beginning. We're talking about $80 million.

No Forgive me for saying that.

That your reputation is impeccable, Mr.

Gaduro. I tend to want to, you know, at this point, but but again, your reputation is impeccable. How I remember how you first began your career, how you started your career, and how you developed that whole area and um my opinion, you have a uh a vested interest in that area because you it's kind of a cluster of things that you've done.

We live here. when you watch channel 10 news and you look down the highway when it's they do the introduction, you see buildings that that that come from you.

So, um I want to thank you for putting in the proposal and staying interested in the city you grew up in. So, um anybody have any other questions at this point?

No, I would you would Yes, you would.

I I would echo your comments. I mean, if you look through the proposals, um, the MEO building, the Melcor building, uh, Lady Gut Workers Union, um, you know, the other 18 units, looking at Bedford Street, that whole area, um, has transformed, um, and I think you will see some life down there. You know, you do have a couple of restaurants and stuff in that area already. People will

be able to walk down here into the into downtown. You want to have that link.

Um, and the parking is essential.

I think we're doing I think if I could, not to boast, but I think we're doing what Alex asked. We're bringing eight units into one side and six into another for affordable housing. We understand that's implied, right? We're also chasing market rate, not because market rate is market rate, but it it helps pay the buildings. Builders are not cheap.

They're not cheap, right? Right. But we are bringing market rate, Alex.

Good. And so we'll be using CDA. We using CDA right now for four units on 295 out of 52. Doesn't sound like a lot, but we are. At the end of the day, we got to build this building and I got to make sure I do it right. And I don't want to build a less than deserved building that the city needs.

I want to build a shining building. No clapboard, no nothing. With all due respect, I want to build something nice.

And that's what we're doing. And what I what I like about Bedford Street too, it's not just the units there, but also what caught my eye on this was the adult daycare center because many people, you know, have elderly parents living with them, but they still have to work and they need a daycare facility for their parent besides putting them in a nursing home and we don't have enough of those. And I think

I think that that was a a real good use in that area before people, you know, so let's talk about that. I get to give props to community connections. I reached out to them. They've been a tender mine for over 20 years. We're in Commonwealth Landing and I approached them. I said, "Hi, would you like to come into the building, but ultimately for me, I can build anything, Linda, but

we need to rent space." And they came in and injected capital and they believed exactly we just said, "No one should be stored or warehouse in their homes. They should be have the same ability and fortitude as every individual to live outside." And that's what Community Connection does. And what they did is tremendous, tremendous. They injected a huge capital to make this project work. They they do

a great job. Um Community Connection has a group of individuals who go to the Vets Kitchen at U Liberal Club every Wednesday and serve the veterans and they are the nicest group of kids you'd ever want to meet. Um and Community Connection really does a phenomenal job.

The last thing I want to tell the board, and I've seen this stuff over and over again, people promise to deliver. I have a timeline in there. My timeline is as long as the preservation committee doesn't prohibit me demolishing that building, that building will come down in 30, 60 days. So, you're not going to wait for me. I'm going to be ahead of the game. I already hired Castella Group right Dennis?

The Castella Group. I got my numbers. I came to play today. I didn't want this to be a police station all over again. I came to play. I'm ready to play. If the city believes my vision that we can transform coming off Hot Wall Street and have one, two, three beautiful buildings there. As Brad said, you have the you have the bank building. Everyone coming in from Hotwell Street or from New

Baffford will see what For looks like at that corner. That's my vision.

I yield.

Council good.

Uh just from a procedural standpoint, so you just passed out this document. So item number four, I just don't want to highlight it. Is that is that a is that a bond or what are we referring to?

Adequate funding. Yes. Yeah. Um yeah, the um he and he uh down payment was required and we secured it.

Yep.

Um I did um provide That's not That's not the purchase price, I guess.

No. No.

Okay. That's what I wanted to make sure because I guess if you know my purchase price.

No, we're not supposed to know it.

No. Yeah, that that's why that's why if it was the purchase price I I was going to say that I know we had members of the real estate committee in here for the uh comparative analysis. I would have suggested that we um I just want to I just want to um point out too that this is contingent upon the city engineer um measuring the feasibility of this actual um plan and design as well. Okay.

Um and um it was an oversight actually on my part to get him the developmental proposal prior. So, he is evaluating it at this time and that's why um as far as what you guys um decide um it's still contingent upon him um putting it putting forth if if any additional zoning or anything like that would be required.

So, do you just need a referral to the proposal team?

Um and that mean the proposal and then the chairperson has to designate a delegate doing that probably correct.

Okay. So that I'll make a motion to uh refer the um proposals proposal uh to the proposal review team.

Second u motion second. All in favor I so voted and I will uh I will speak to both my colleagues after the meeting to see who desires to uh to serve with me on the uh the committee.

You guys are If you guys require anything else from the packets or any other comparative criteria to other projects in the area, please let me know.

And then just in terms of processing, I know you outlined it, but so once the proposal review committee does their analysis, it's going to be a recommendation back to the real estate committee.

Exactly. By the chief of hopefully it happens pretty quickly.

There's no reason, you know, probably given the fact there's only one proposal to review, it might take longer to put your committee together for the uh for the review than the actual review itself. And as I said, tonight after the meeting, I'll be just talking. Might even flip a coin because I think we're all excited to uh to go over this. So, excellent.

Anything else?

That's it.

Good.

Okay.

Motion to adjurnn.

Motion has been made. Second. All in favor?

I.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

My back

Hey, hey, hey hey.