Revere, MA Weighs 1,700-Unit Housing Project

The city of Revere is eying a large redevelopment plan that would create 1,700 new affordable and market-rate homes about five miles northeast of downtown Boston. The Revere Housing Authority presented a proposal to the Revere City Council last week requesting a zoning change that would allow for development on a 40-acre site at Cooledge Street, near the city’s main street and commercial district, as reported this week by the Revere Journal.

The phased development plan would create about 790 new public housing units, replacing the existing 431 units on the site, while adding roughly 910 market-rate units as well as community amenities and public open spaces. Out of the public housing units, 570 would be family units while 220 units would be designated for senior and the disabled. Current residents of the existing housing units, which are about 70 years old, would be relocated on-site while construction is ongoing being moved into the new units.

RHA’s plan would create Revere’s third Smart Growth district, leveraging a planning tool established by the state’s Smart Growth Zoning and Housing Projection Act that is intended to promote affordability and mixed-use development.