By Adam Swift
Several major projects are expected to get underway on the Revere side of the massive Suffolk Downs mixed-use development by the end of the year.
Thomas O’Brien, the CEO of Suffolk Downs developer HYM met with the city council Monday night to provide an update on the project, highlighting ongoing work, work scheduled to get underway, and the long-term plans for the project at the former horse racing track in Revere and East Boston.
“(We) want to make sure that we say thank you,” said O’Brien. “This council and the mayor have been great with us in terms of helping us try to work our way through the last 24 months or so with increased interest rates and increased costs and some of the things that affected the pace of development. I think we’ve all worked together to try and make sure the project stays on track and also put people to work.”
When the approvals for the Suffolk Downs project were completed, one of the requirements was that HYM would come back and give an update to the city council one per year, O’Brien said.
The Amaya project, with 475 residential units, has been completed, and the Portico project, with another 475 units, is underway, he said.
O’Brien said the the Amaya building is over 90 percent leased, and has ground floor retail spaces occupied by Twisted Fate Brewing and The Point Barre and Yoga.
“You will see the steel start to come out of the ground (for Portico) later this year,” said O’Brien. “In addition to that is the Amp … which is an outdoor amphitheater and is also part of the full infrastructure system and the water management system.”
Slated to start construction this year are a 150-room hotel with a roof deck restaurant and bar; and the Arden, another residential development with 243 units. O’Brien said the name of the company that will operate the hotel has not been made public yet.
Also expected to move forward in the near future is the Beachmont Plaza Park, which will help create open space in the area.
“This may not be the most exciting stuff, but a lot of the work that we have done has been to spend on infrastructure as we move forward,” said O’Brien.
A lot of funds have been spent on infrastructure to set the stage for the site moving forward, he said.
“We built out on-site roadways … every road that we built has to have utilities built into it as well,” said O’Brien.
Improvements have already been made to 10 intersections in the area, with another seven under construction, he added.
As the work continues at Suffolk Downs, O’Brien said HYM has been activating the space with community events such as pop-up markets and outdoor fitness activities, as well as World Cup viewing parties later this summer that will be held in conjunction with the city.
“The effort is really to bring people to the site and try to make it a place that is active,” said O’Brien.
Ward 1 Councilor Jim Mercurio said it was good to see the project moving forward, and also asked about the status of improvements to Donnelly Square. He said he would like to see the plans for lowering the wires, decorative lighting, trees, and streetscaping for the square come to fruition.
“We share the same goal of trying to make Donnelly Square a special place,” said O’Brien. To get the work done will likely require partnerships with Massdot, the MBTA, and other stakeholders.
“The key thing is below grade; there’s a ton of infrastructure,” said O’Brien. “The power companies, the MBTA, Massdot, all of those pieces; so we’re going to need partnerships with all of those entities in order to relocate all of that below grade equipment and free it up so we can make the overhead lighting work the way we all want to make it work.”
Council President Anthony Zambuto said he is excited by the development and activity on the site and is hoping that lower interest rates and an improved economy will further help move the Suffolk Downs development along.