05/18/2024
- Horner Millwork, headquartered at 1255 G.A.R. Highway in Somerset, is eyeing the blighted Mackenzie & Winslow Warehouse property at 644 & 648 Rodman Street in Fall River to construct a warehouse and retail showroom in addition to their existing locations. Horner Millwork also owns and operates the Remodelers Outlet, which is currently leasing space inside the Tower Outlet Mill at 657 Quarry Street in Fall River.
On Thursday, the Fall River Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously granted Dorwin Realty Trust, which has the property under agreement with Horner Millwork, a Permit to demolish two existing nonconforming structures at 644 & 648 Rodman Street. Horner Millwork would then construct a new 60,000 sq. ft. building with the same nonconforming setbacks as the original structure. Horner was also granted a Variance to allow manufacturing and warehousing use in a Local Business District.
Horner Millwork owner and president, Peter Humphrey, told the Zoning Board that the purchase of the Rodman Street property would be insurance in case the current landlord of the Remodelers Outlet location decided to do something else with the building.
Humphrey said their lease on Quarry Street was coming to an end soon and they would be able to move Remodelers Outlet to the new Rodman Street location if necessary.
Horner Millwork was established in 1948 by William Horner. He built a business selling ‘prehung’ doors during an era when carpenters were still mortising frames by hand. The time and convenience of being able to pop in a framed door established Horner Millwork as the preferred supplier of doors and windows in Eastern Mass and Rhode Island.
In 1978, a devastating fire destroyed two-thirds of the property, but Horner, at age 71, had no plans to walk away. Horner Millwork was rebuilt and sold to the Humphrey family. Soon after the sale, Horner Millwork expanded into commercial sales.
Over the next decades, Horner Millwork continued to expand. Satellite offices and showrooms were opened in Southboro, Pembroke, and Woburn (now in Haverhill); a retail store (Remodelers Outlet) was opened in Fall River; and Horner acquired Cooper Stairworks, Phoenix Millwork, Design Door, and Home Genius.
Horner’s manufacturing facility in Somerset, as part of North Atlantic Corp, also continued to expand. A series of additions has brought the overall square footage to 266,000 sq ft and the installation of a 4,250 solar panel array now generates nearly 100% of our plant’s electricity.
The property at 644 & 648 has been in front of the Zoning Board of Appeals several times over the last several years. In January, Fall River based WR Construction & Design Inc., was planning to consolidate its operations at 5 different locations into one central manufacturing facility. WR Construction was also seeking to purchase the vacant Mackenzie & Winslow Warehouse property, but the deal never came to fruition.
In August of 2023, Portugalia Marketplace was seeking additional warehouse storage space and was also planning to renovate & beautify the vacant Mackenzie & Winslow warehouse property at 644 & 648 Rodman Street, but a deal to purchase the property fell through.
In March of 2023, The Fall River Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously voted to grant a Variance to River Trail Condominium LLC., to convert the existing 20,000 square foot
