The long wait for development to start at the former Suffolk Downs is almost over.
Michael Barowsky, Vice-President of Development from the HYM Investment Group, the owner of the Suffolk Downs site, said that construction will start in the second quarter of 2021. Barowsky made his comments while appearing at the Revere Conservation Commission meeting on December 2.
HYM came before the commission seeking approval for minor modifications to three proposed buildings and for an amended Order of Conditions for the sewer line.
The three buildings are located toward the front of the site bordering Winthrop Ave. and Washburn St. The first building, listed on the plans as Building R1, will consist of three stories and will have office and retail space. It will be the closest to the Beachmont MBTA station.
The final plans for the landscaping were presented and will include a promenade along Winthrop Ave. with trees. It will have both hard and soft surfaces, as well as street lights and furniture. It will include the bicycle path that traverses throughout the development.
The second building, listed as R2, will be a six-story hotel and is located on lot R5, which also will contain several other buildings in the future. This parcel is located across from the present MBTA parking lot on Winthrop Ave. The building is located on the main Road B on the site, which will provide access to Winthrop Ave.
This site also will have trees, a bicycle path, and street lighting, as well as street furniture. The traffic light on this road and Winthrop Ave. will be signalized with the MBTA lot.
The last building, R3, will consist of 435 units of studio, single, and two-bedroom apartments and will be eight-to-15 stories tall.
There also will be commercial/retail space. Parking will be on the first three floors, and will have 198 parking spaces. There will be an overflow surface lot that will hold another 293 parking spaces. Eventually, a multi-story parking garage will be built on this site. The building will border Washburn Ave.
Commissioners approved an Amended Order of Conditions for three items. The first was making a 90 degree turn onto Road D located on the site. The next amended order pertained to work on design elements such as landscaping and slightly moving the storm drains. The final condition was a sewer line redesign that now will run to the HYM pumping station.
Originally, the sewer line was to run under Green Creek, but now will extend along Winthrop Avenue. According to Jeff Heidelberg, a civil engineer, the impacted area for the creek will decrease by almost one-third.
“This will not disturb Green Creek,†said Commission Chairman Nick Moulaison. “It is a better idea to go out to the street rather than under the creek.â€
“As long as all city agencies have been consulted, then I have no problem,†noted Commissioner Ann Raponi noted.
“HYM has been very forthcoming and has worked with the city’s agencies,†added Robert O’Brien, Revere’s Director of Planning and Development.
Barowsky noted that the Revere project was fully approved in 2018 and recently received approvals from the state and city of Boston for the Boston side of the project.
All measures unanimously were approved by the commission.
In other business before the commission, commissioners gave their approval to plans by Boston Gas to drill 12 boring sites along American Legion Highway and Squire Road.
The purpose of the borings is “to expose the utilities and see what is there,†according to Derek Oakleaf, who represented Boston Gas.
The platforms to do the work will be either 4 x 4 feet or 4 x 12 feet, with the boring holes being six inches in diameter to a depth of 4-to-6 feet. All earth that is removed in the process will be put back. The commissioners approved the negative determination by a unanimous vote.
The Revere Hotel unanimously was given a Certificate of Compliance by the commission after a site visit had been conducted.
The owners of 10 Pearl Ave. received the green light from the commission for their plans to demolish the existing two-family home and replace it with a two-family home. The house lies in the 100-year floodplain and borders a wetland. The new foundation will have smart vents to deal with potential flooding and will be placed more toward the middle of the lot than the present structure. During construction, hay bales and an environmental fence will be required.
