New apartments at Fall River’s Durfee Tech

FALL RIVER — Fall River’s newest apartments bring new purpose to a building that’s been involved with more than 100 years of the city’s history.

“It feels like there’s a renaissance coming, a revival,” said Alan Macomber.

Macomber is the developer behind new apartments that are almost complete inside a three-building complex at 64 Durfee St. commonly known as Durfee Tech.

The structure was built in 1895 and first opened as the Bradford Durfee Textile School, named for major textile industrialist Bradford Durfee, whose son Bradford Matthew Chaloner Durfee would later lend his name to B.M.C. Durfee High School. The school would later morph into the Bradford Durfee Technical Institute. The building eventually housed South Eastern Massachusetts University before the school relocated and became UMass Dartmouth and was the original location for Bristol Community College.

The property has sat unoccupied for 23 years, a time that has seen several fruitless attempts to redevelop it. Macomber, who also developed the nearby Commonwealth Landing housing and commercial space on Davol Street, bought the property in 2017.

In a nod to the buildings’ ties to Fall River’ educational history, the new apartments have been dubbed The Creative Class. The name also highlights the fact that some of the new development’s 55 apartments are intended to house local artists. Eleven of the apartments have rents set between $740 and $840. Renters for these affordable apartments will be selected through a lottery set for Nov. 17, with preference given to professional artists.

Business moving to city:Dorothy Cox Chocolates bringing candy, ice cream and jobs to new site in Fall River

Dyani Ramos, property manager for The Creative Class, said the definition of artist isn’t just limited to painters and sculptors but can include people like architects, writers and even social media influencers.

How much will the apartments cost?

The market-rate apartments have rent set at $1,450 for a one-bedroom and between $1850 and $2050 for a two bedroom.

According to rental listing website Zumper, the average rent for a one-bedroom in Fall River is $1,263, while the average rent for a two-bedroom is $1,300.

The first renters are expected to move in in February of next year. The new apartments, many of which include views of the waterfront, include original brick walls and hardwood floors.

“We’re really trying to bring the history back,” Ramos said.

Commercial space included

The development includes some commercial space; Macomber said they are still in the process of signing leases with potential businesses. There will also be a black box theater that artists living there can use to stage productions and a co-working space with desks and offices available to both residents and other community members to rent.

Market research suggested about two-thirds of the people moving into the new apartments could be from outside Fall River, with a third even coming from out of state, Macomber said. With the new commuter rail line that will connect the city to Boston in 2023, people will increasingly begin to move here for jobs both in Fall River and nearby cities, Ramos said.