Mayor Paul Coogan outlines housing, rail, public-safety and redevelopment priorities in 2025 State of the City

Mayor Paul Coogan delivered Fall River's 2025 State of the City on March 11, 2025, in the City Council Chambers, outlining finances, housing plans, the March 24 start of South Coast Rail service and public-safety reforms. Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll attended and spoke in support of statewide partnerships to expand housing and infrastructure.

The mayor said the city's stabilization fund has grown by $24,000,000 since he took office in 2020 and reported roughly $3,600,000 in new growth for fiscal 2025 — about $700,000 more than FY 2024 — improvements he said will help spread the tax burden. Coogan said Fall River has completed 51 of 82 projects funded with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money and is on track to spend the remainder by December 2026. "We were able to work together to save St. Anne's Hospital," Coogan said, referencing the facility's acquisition and the retention of health-care jobs.

Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll emphasized housing as a central challenge and pointed to state initiatives. "We're just not gonna admire this problem. We're gonna really lean in, make investments, help shift policies, put Massachusetts in a place to build more housing," Driscoll said, adding that the Commonwealth is about "222,000 units short" of what it needs. Both speakers highlighted converting older industrial sites and downtown properties into housing and commercial space as a key strategy.

Coogan and Driscoll framed the March 24 launch of South Coast Rail service as a major development for Fall River. The mayor said the new passenger rail "helps sustain jobs, reduces business costs, and delivers critical public benefits, like lower emissions and reduced highway congestion." The administration said MBTA investments and new hires are part of getting the service ready.

Economic development updates in the address included several private investments and redevelopment projects: the Fall River Redevelopment Authority closed on 76 acres in the South Coast Technology Park for a planned industrial development expected to create about 225 full-time jobs; Gold Medal Bakery purchased an 80,000-square-foot property for expansion; and a pharmaceutical company had already invested $5,700,000 and plans an additional $20,000,000 to expand manufacturing and R&D space. The mayor said the Duval Street/Route 79 corridor master plan is underway and a Columbia Street reconstruction project will go to bid this summer.

On public safety, Coogan cited a reorganization of the Fall River Police Department under interim Chief Kelly Furtado and the creation of NEAT and CAS units to address gang activity, drug dealing and illegal firearms. Since November 2024 those units have made about 87 arrests and seized 12 illegal firearms, the mayor said. The city has also hired new firefighters and secured roughly $1,500,000 in grant funding for manpower, safety education and equipment.

The mayor described steps the city has taken on homelessness and substance-use disorder: renovation of a permanent 30-bed overflow shelter, warming centers, and a FAST team conducting outreach at encampments with a police liaison, recovery coaches and clinicians. Coogan said 61 individuals have entered a program called "Enhancements Without Encampments," which offers treatment and up to six months of sober living; 17 have graduated so far.

Education and youth services featured enrollment and program updates. Coogan said Fall River Public Schools' PreK–12 enrollment was 11,447 as of Feb. 1, 2025 — an increase of 358 students — and that early-college and preschool partnerships are expanding. The mayor also noted increases in teacher retention and a new collective-bargaining agreement intended to support recruitment.

Other items the mayor highlighted included continued lead service line replacements (more than 1,000 full or partial replacements since 2022 at no cost to property owners), sidewalk and roadway work at roughly 225 locations in 2024, and a range of park, pier and downtown revitalization projects supported by state and federal funding.

No new ordinances or formal policy actions were taken during the session. The meeting concluded with routine adjournment motions recorded for the school committee and the city council.

The mayor closed by urging continued local, state and federal partnerships to sustain projects he listed as priorities — a new Durfee High School, the Route 79/Duval Street corridor, South Coast Rail service, waterfront improvements and a new vocational school — and thanked residents and officials for their cooperation.