A 19th-century textile mill on Globe Street in Fall River is on track to become 89 apartments, backed by a slice of the $330 million Governor Maura Healey announced this week for economic development and housing projects spanning 207 Massachusetts communities. The Globe Mill Lofts project, estimated to cost more than $20 million, is converting the 1881 Globe Yarn Mills building into a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom market-rate units.
A Record-Setting Round of State Grants
Healey's announcement, detailed by Fall River Reporter, covers 403 local projects projected to support more than 27,000 new homes, over 13,000 permanent jobs and more than 7 million square feet of new commercial development statewide, while unlocking an estimated $24.6 billion in private investment. The governor said the awards will create housing, jobs and economic growth across Massachusetts. Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll said the One Stop portal makes it easier for communities to access resources for local projects, noting the awards support more than 400 projects in every region of the state.
The 207 communities receiving funding mark the largest number ever reached in a single round of the Community One Stop for Growth program, according to the same report, with 13 of those communities receiving One Stop grants for the first time. Of the projects funded, 50 percent sit in MBTA communities, 37 percent in Housing Choice communities, 36 percent in rural communities and 24 percent in Gateway Cities. Since its 2021 launch, the One Stop portal has distributed over $1 billion through more than 1,900 grants to support municipal housing and economic development goals across the state, according to Mass.gov.
Fall River's Share of the Pie
The statewide round included awards through HousingWorks and MassWorks. Fall River's portion included a $2.5 million Housing Development Incentive Program award and $250,000 in additional grants tied directly to the Globe Mill Lofts conversion, per the same report.
Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley said the awards will prepare development sites, improve infrastructure, reuse underused properties and support jobs and homes across Massachusetts. Housing Secretary Juana Matias said the Healey-Driscoll administration made the state's largest-ever local infrastructure investment for new housing. Matias was named to her post as Secretary of Housing earlier this year, a transition Hoodline detailed in February.
From Flea Market to Apartment Building
The Globe Yarn Mills building at 460 Globe Street previously housed the Globe Flea Market, Globe Furniture and Rack 'Em Up Billiards. The flea market closed at the end of April after more than 40 years in business. MassCan Capital LLC closed on the 98,190-square-foot property on August 31, and the Fall River Zoning Board of Appeals granted the company a special permit in March 2025 to convert the mill into an 89-unit apartment building with 89 parking spaces and landscaping.
The finished project is expected to include 4 studio units, 57 one-bedroom units and 28 two-bedroom units, all at market rate. Construction may break ground as early as this year, with completion expected in 2027. The project also centers on the historic mill's conversion to housing.
Why Fall River Keeps Getting Picked
Fall River's eligibility for programs like the Housing Development Incentive Program stems from its status as one of 26 state-designated Gateway Cities — mid-sized urban centers with populations between 35,000 and 250,000 where household income and bachelor's degree attainment trail state averages, according to News From The States. That designation carries added weight because Gateway Cities host 70 percent of the state's 147,000 Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing units, with such housing accounting for over half of all rental apartments in Fall River, according to a September 2025 study by the MassINC Policy Center.
The HDIP program itself has grown considerably since 2023, when tax relief legislation signed by Healey permanently raised its annual cap from $10 million to $30 million, following a one-time $57 million allocation meant to clear a backlog of pending projects. That expansion followed the broader $5.16 billion Affordable Homes Act Healey signed in August 2024, which authorized $2.2 billion for public housing, $800 million for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and legalized accessory dwelling units by-right statewide — legislation Hoodline covered when it was first filed.
State officials point to steep need behind the spending: a Healey housing plan sets a statewide target of 222,000 housing units by 2035. Under Section 3A of Chapter 40A, MBTA communities that fail to adopt compliant multi-family zoning near transit may lose access to funding from MassWorks, HousingWorks, the Housing Initiative and the Local Capital Projects Fund.
Not Fall River's First Mill Conversion Grant
This is not the first time Fall River's downtown has drawn One Stop dollars for adaptive reuse. In the October 2024 round, the city received $558,400 to support converting the historic 1887 Durfee Block building into 22 market-rate housing units downtown. Fall River's Globe Mill conversion is another example of the city's mill-to-housing efforts.
