By Adam Swift
The City Council voted 10-1 Monday night to grant two special permits to allow for the construction of a 250-unit residential development at the former Lee’s Trailer Park on Winthrop Avenue.
Councilor-at-Large Michelle Kelley cast the lone vote against approval of the special permits.
At a zoning subcommittee meeting last week, Kelley raised concerns about the scope and the density of the project.
The project will be one of the first private developments in the city to include an affordable housing component, with 25 units being offered at affordable rates at 80 percent of the AMI (Area Median Income). Kelley was also among the councilors who raised the possibility of adding more affordable units to the project.
At the zoning subcommittee, several councillors also requested that the affordable units be targeted for Revere residents, senior citizens, and veterans.
The motion approved by the council on Monday night included the amendments that the affordable units be reserved for veterans and seniors, that the units contain a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom units, and that 70 percent preference (the maximum allowed by law) be set aside for local preference to Revere residents.
The six-story building will have 36 studio, 106 one-bedroom, and 106 two-bedroom apartments, according to attorney Gerry D’Ambrosio, who represented developer Helge-Gansett. There will also be parking spaces for 179 vehicles and the mixed-use development will have retail space on the first floor of the building on the five-acre site.
The project is in Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna ward, and she has been involved in the negotiations over the past year. She said those negotiations saw a decrease in the number of overall units and an increase in the percentage of affordable units.
McKenna said there will also be substantial financial benefits to the city, including $2 million per year in property taxes, payments to the community improvement trust fund, and $500,000 toward a new Revere Community Arts Center at the old Beachmont Fire Station. In addition, there will be major upgrades to the site and the cleaning and maintenance of Green Creek.
