Master Developer Sought for 624K SF Attleboro TOD

Image courtesy of Attleboro Redevelopment Authority

MBTA and Attleboro real estate officials are preparing to offer a 6.5-acre site next to the Attleboro commuter rail station for a large multifamily housing project.

The Attleboro Redevelopment Authority this week issued a request for qualifications from developers that are experienced in transit-oriented developments for the 6.3-acre site on the east side of Riverfront Drive.

The site offers “the greatest development opportunity” in downtown Attleboro, the MBTA said. The preferred concept would total 624,000 square feet and include at least 610 housing units. The ARA also suggests a small segment of commercial, retail and amenity space and 730 parking spaces.

“Mixed-use transit-oriented developments like the one to come in Downtown Attleboro are critical as we partner with local communities to promote economic development, introduce more affordable housing, and assist the Commonwealth in its climate change goals,” MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng said in a statement.

This month, MBTA officials announced plans to offer a series of transit-oriented development sites at stations throughout the system.

Scott Bosworth, the MBTA’s head of transit-oriented developments, said the agency will seek to partner with developers on demolition and redevelopment of the Alewife station garage in Cambridge.

Other projects are planned at JFK-UMass station in Dorchester, Andrew station in South Boston and the Anderson Regional Transportation Center in Woburn.

The Attleboro site previously included a machine parts factory, city dump, police station and Department of Public Works buildings. It was acquired by the ARA and MBTA in recent decades, and environmental clean-up was completed, the agencies said. The two agencies agreed to a land swap in 2024 that was designed to make the site more attractive to developers.

The offering does not have a minimum income-restricted component, but developers will be asked to submit proposals with a “robust mix of unit types,” according to the RFQ.

Selection criteria include experience with at least three projects in the past 10 years of at least 500,000 square feet and 300 residential units.

Submissions are due Aug. 14. A selection team comprising the ARA, the MBTA and the city of Attleboro will review submissions and select a list of finalists that will be asked to submit a formal request for proposals.

Attleboro created a transit-oriented development zoning district near the MBTA station, spurring a recent uptick in multifamily development.

The downtown area has added more than 200 housing units since 2019, and two other projects totaling more than 80 units are under construction.