The Revere City Council listened intently Monday night as Brian Dakin, construction manager for the new Revere High School project, gave a detailed presentation on all aspects of the project, from the timeline for design and construction, to the costs, and the three construction options on the table.
Dakin offered a slide presentation to complement his remarks. For the parents of schoolchildren watching at home, it had to be breathtaking to view the incredible plans for the potential $394 million project. State reimbursement would be about $163 million.
“This was an excellent presentation,†said Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky, who has heard many presentations during his two decades as a city councillor.
Dakin spoke about the two potential sites for the new school: the current site of Revere High School and the former Wonderland Greyhound Park site on VPW Parkway.
The three options for construction are: the construction of a new school at the existing site of Revere High; a renovation of the existing fieldhouse at Revere High and the construction of the new school on the current site; or the construction of a new school on the Wonderland Park site.
Supt. of Schools Dr. Dianne Kelly was in the Council Chambers for the presentation. Revere has been a national model for urban education during her reign as superintendent. Aided by a dedicated staff of educators, Revere students have pursued their dreams of a college education and career. The thought of a new, state-of-the-art high school, with a new fieldhouse and outdoor campus, new science laboratories, and so many other advantages, had to be overwhelming for the entire Revere school community.
The new Revere High School would have a maximum enrollment of 2,400 students.
The consensus seemed to be that the current site of Revere High School has the edge as the School Building Project Committee, the School Committee, and the City Council prepare to vote on the school site option in the next two weeks.
One reason for that, as Dakin noted in his presentation, is the fact that the Wonderland Park site could generate as much as $30 million in taxes annually for the city if Wonderland were to be developed as a commercial site.
Following his presentation, Dakin fielded questions from the Council about the project. Some councillors were concerned about the eminent domain taking of properties near the school, but there was assurances that would be none related to either option.
The clock is ticking as Revere must select an option and have its materials in to the Massachusetts School Building Authority in order to get into this year’s funding cycle and not delay the project for one year.
The projected opening of the new Revere High School – if everything in the process goes smoothly – is the summer of 2026.
