By Adam Swift
In 2024, Revere saw the efforts to build a new high school become a reality.
In January, the city council voted 10-1 to move forward with building a new four-story high school building at the Wonderland property. In May, the council approved the bond authorization, which has a projected cost of over $520 million, with about $285 million of that eligible for reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
The council had previously selected the Wonderland site in late 2022 as the recommended site for a new school following approvals from the school committee and the school building committee. However, in 2023, the project failed to garner the necessary votes from the council for bond authorization.
That sent the project back to the site selection process, with the Wonderland site once again winning out over plans to build a new school on the current high school site.
The new school is anticipated to be open to students and staff in the fall of 2028.
As work continued on the new Alden A. Mills Point of Pines Fire Station early in 2024, the council voted to name the community room at the new station after former long-time Ward 5 Councilor John Powers.
The beginning of the year also saw the inauguration of Patrick Keefe to his first official term as mayor of the city.
In 2023, Keefe served as acting mayor after then Mayor Brian Arrigo stepped down to take the top job at the state DCR. Keefe then defeated former mayor and City Councilor Dan Rizzo in late 2023 to take the official post.
During his inaugural address in January, Keefe noted there were big decisions to make in the city, including a new high school, the next phases of development at Suffolk Downs, the continued evolution of Revere’s coastal footprint, and the ongoing quest for affordable housing.
“The decisions we make in the very near future will chart Revere’s course for the remainder of many of our lifetimes,” Keefe stated during his inaugural address.
The massive Suffolk Downs development in Revere and East Boston hit some major milestones in 2024, but there were also some questions raised about the progress of the overall project.
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.
During the summer, HYM Development announced that it was kicking off leasing efforts at its Amaya building in Revere.
Later during the summer, Tom O’Brien of HYM Development addressed the city council about reports that stated work at the Suffolk Downs redevelopment had been halted.
“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.
In other major development news on the other side of the city in 2024, Gibson Point, a 291-unit apartment development located at the former G&J tow yard near Gibson Park saw leasing begin on its first units and the announcement of the opening of a new restaurant at the development in early 2025 from local restaurateur Michael Aldi.
During the year, work also continued on plans for the Gibson Park renovation project. However, Ward 5 Councilor Angela Guarino-Sawaya and residents of the area did raise some concerns about a proposal for a berm on Mills Avenue which would cut down on access points to the waterfront and also affect the water views for residents.
Housing continued to be an area of concern and focus for city officials and the council over the course of 2024, with discussions on a proposed housing production plan expected to continue in the early months of 2025.
At a council meeting late in the year, some residents raised concerns about how the plan would affect development in the city with some possible zoning changes, while others urged the council to take action and adopt the plan, citing the need for affordable housing in the city and across the state.
The housing production plan, which has been in the works for over a year, aims to create housing for residents of all income levels as well as sustain the city’s current housing stock.
The city’s department of planning and community development worked on the plan alongside outside consultant JM Goldson and a working group composed mainly of volunteers.
The ultimate goal of the housing production plan is to create a roadmap for building the right kind of housing in the right locations across all income spectrums in a way that can predictably help the city manage its growth as a community, planning and community development director Tom Skwierawski has stated.
In addition to the city-wide housing production plan, officials also continued work on a Broadway Master Plan in 2024.
Over the coming months, the document will go before the planning board and then the city council for a final vote and endorsement.
Tom Skwierwaski said the master plan will be a living, long-term document providing a flexible framework to identify priorities and investments in the 1.4-mile corridor.
“This is not going to happen in six months,” he said. “We are talking about five years, 10 years, 15 years down the line. The master plan will cover housing, land use, transportation, and zoning issues.
“This will allow us to make important, key changes in each of those areas and is not a static document to be implemented as drawn.”
In the fall, the council also tabled a motion to allow for recreational marijuana sales in Revere.
In 2016, Revere voters were against the ultimately successful state referendum vote allowing for recreational marijuana sales in Massachusetts.
In recent years, Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri helped push to have the council reconsider allowing recreational sales in Revere, citing the positive economic impact for the city as well as the fact that neighboring communities allow sales right on the border of the city, among other reasons.
Several other councillors signaled a willingness to consider recreational sales in Revere. The issue was tabled, however, in the fall after a public hearing where a number of residents organized and expressed their concerns about allowing recreational sales in the city.
City and school officials both addressed concerns with violence in the schools after a number of incidents involving fights at the high school at the beginning of the school year in September.
Councilors, the administration, school staff, and the school committee all looked at different initiatives to increase security and safety in the schools for students and staff.
School safety became one of the issues addressed in contract negotiations between the teachers’ union and the school committee.
In November, the union and the schools came to an agreement on a four-year contract that included an increase in wages for all teachers districtwide, paid parental leave, and school safety initiatives.
“This proposed contract speaks to the power of listening to one another, and mutual respect for each other’s roles,” said Keefe.
Revere Teachers’ Association co-presidents Jane Chapin and Michelle Ervin said the agreement represented a meaningful step in the right direction for students and educators.
“It addresses critical issues such as competitive wages to attract and retain educators, paid parental leave, and safe and healthy schools,” they stated. “We believe this contract helps us find proactive solutions to the serious problems facing our schools, and we are excited to refocus our energy on what matters most: educating Revere’s students.”
In June, 430 Revere High School and CityLab Innovation High School seniors walked the stage at Harry Della Russo Stadium and received their diplomas as part of the school department’s graduation exercises.
“There are so many incredible accomplishments among the members of the Class of 2024, and I am extremely proud of all our graduating seniors,” said Revere Public School Superintendent Dr. Dianne Kelly. “Our graduates entered high school at the height of COVID but overcame so many challenges the pandemic presented. Despite beginning high school with so much uncertainty, every one of these students rose above adversity to become successful students, mentors, and leaders and forged friendships and relationships that will last a lifetime.”
Valedictorian Melih Yilmaz, salutatorian Bianca Fiore, and class president Allen Hou represented the Class of ‘24 during the graduation exercises.
The presidential election was big news nationally in 2024, but at the local level, state representatives Jessica Giannino and Jeff Turco ran unopposed for reelection. State Senator Lydia Edwards faced a Republican challenger in the general election, but was also reelected.
