Tom O’Brien of HYM Development addressed the fallout from a recent Boston Globe article that stated that work at the Suffolk Downs redevelopment has been halted at Monday night’s city council meeting.
The overall plan for the 161-acre Suffolk Downs site in Revere and East Boston calls for 5.2 million square feet of life science and office space, 10.15 million square feet of residential space, 450,000 square feet of retail space, 400,000 square feet of hotel space, and over 40 acres of open space.
The development on the Revere portion of the project leans more heavily on a 50-50 split between residential and commercial development, while in East Boston, there is more emphasis on building residential units.
O’Brien said that in the recent Globe article, there was a disconnect between what was in the body of the article, and the headline, which stated that work had been halted at the site.
“If you read the body of the article, it is almost word for word what I said when I was before you a month or so ago,” said O’Brien. “I can’t explain how the newspaper business works, but the people who write the headlines for the articles write a different headline than the people who are actually the writers of the article themselves. So the headline didn’t actually match up with anything said, and it certainly didn’t match up with anything of how we are operating.”
O’Brien said he wanted to state clearly and absolutely that the project is moving forward.
“We have a whole team of people at HYM who work on this project every single day, and we are advancing the project as actively and aggressively as we possibly can,” said O’Brien.
The first group of units at the development’s first building, the Amaya at Beachmont, have been completed with about 50 of the units leased. When completed, the building will have 475 residential units and nine retail spots, O’Brien said.
O’Brien said that there are letters of interest for the nine retail slots, and in the coming weeks, HYM should be able to publicly announce the first tenant.
“Our goal with the entire site is to take this abandoned horse racing track and make it popular for people who want to come to be there,” said O’Brien.
In addition, the site is prepared for a second 475-unit residential building with commercial units across the street from the Amaya, O’Brien said.
“The building is ready to go as we seek to get the financing lined up,” he said. “We are working carefully with members of the building trade unions to get costs lined up so we can help them meet their obligations under a project labor agreement that they signed with the general contractor on the site, and we’ve made good progress.”
In the fall, O’Brien said HYM is hoping to deliver a grand opening for the Amaya building, as well as the groundbreaking for the 475-unit building across the street from it.
“People should understand that at this point, the combination of the work we have done on the site, all the infrastructure we’ve built so far, the investor group, including us, has put about $600 million into this site,” said O’Brien. “To us, what that means is that nobody is walking away from this and we are working very hard every single day. The objective is to move it at a fast pace, but it’s a big site, and over the course of a 15-year build-out, there will be recessions.”
Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley questioned O’Brien about the progress on the site, including the future of a proposed life sciences building. Kelley noted that the market for life sciences and biolab buildings in the region has hit a rough patch, with projects in other communities having been put on hold.
“Do you intend on building it as originally planned, or will it be somewhat modified?” Kelley asked.
O’Brien said HYM is prepared to take on the life science building project again. He said the key to the site is to make it an attractive place where people will want to come to live, visit, and work.
“That is what would make it a campus for a life science building, and what we want it to be,” said O’Brien.
Kelley said she recently visited the Suffolk Downs site several times, and said that she could see why the lack of activity on the site could raise some questions and concerns.
O’Brien noted that the fact that anyone could drive through the site points to the infrastructure work that has already been completed. He also said the developers are working to get to the point soon where there can be a groundbreaking on the second building.
“If we can get the costs lined up, we have a plan that will allow us to get that building underway, and then we will have a ton of trucks on site,” said O’Brien.
Kelley also asked about the increased building costs and if it would affect the design of the proposed residential units and building.
“Is it fair to say that these residential units will not be the original upscale units that were initially discussed and presented to the city?” Kelley asked.
O’Brien said the design for the second residential building is on par with, if not superior to, the Amaya building. He also added that there are no plans for mixed-income units in the residential development.
Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri asked if there were any plans to cut the number of residential units from the 10,000 that were initially proposed in Revere and East Boston.
“When we permitted this, we knew what we were getting into,” said O’Brien. “We believe the demand is out there for 10,000 units of housing.”
Of those 10,000 units, 2,500 are proposed for the Revere portion of the project.
“Having you come here tonight and how confident you are with this project is a great thing for us,” said Councillor-at-Large Robert Haas, III. “I’m excited to see what retail spaces and entertainment outlets will open up there.”
