Harvard Students Get Ready to Plan a Redesigned Revere

REVERE – For the next eight weeks 50 graduate students from the Harvard Graduate School of Design will be teaming up with the city to work on the design and development of several areas in the city.

Last Thursday Mayor Dan Rizzo, Economic Development Director John Festa, City Planner Frank Stringi and others met with students to discuss the city and potential development sites. At the end of the project students will present the city with their ideas. Students will review the development potential of Bell Circle, the Necco Site, Suffollk Downs, Wonderland Dog Track and the potential for a commuter rail station, Wonderland Marketplace, Ocean Avenue South, Revere Beach corridor, and the Beachmont station area.

The urban planning exercise will assist the city’s “Plan Revere” initiative, a planning process for the city that focus’ on the communities strongest assets: proximity to Boston, waterfront, access to public transportation and the airport. A 50-member Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee is being charged with crafting new zoning and policy recommendations.

“We’ll have you help us take the city to the next level,” Rizzo told the students. “Three years ago we had no economic development. We are in the infancy stage. You can kickstart the planning to give John (Festa) help.”

Rizzo noted that Revere has three-miles of oceanfront and America’s first public beach. There are 37 acres at Wonderland and Suffolk Downs has 160 acres.

“We’ve never had an aggressive approach to marketing,” Festa said. “We need to do a better job to promote Revere’s assets.”

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