Revere Beach Developments/infill | Revere

I'm middle aged. I've seen these proposals for Revere Beach since I was a teenager. Hate to be a pessimist, but it is Revere. Call me when 1/8th of this gets built.
 
Bring back the Virginia Reel! I too have been waiting 40 years for something good to happen here since they tore down all the interesting attractions that brought crowds to this oldest public beach in the US.
 
I've always felt that Shirley Ave could be a big commercial draw in itself if only it were given proper attention. The fact that it's a one way street really hurts, as is the fact that it's quite a bit hidden behind the Revere Beach T stop.

There's no practical reason Shirley Ave couldn't be Boston's answer to the Jersey Shore!
 
They need to get a coaster back in there. Subsidize an amusement park by having it be property tax free, and stipulate it be pay per ride (or wristbands) and not pay for admission. I would love to see Revere partner with Canobie, but a bigger corporation like Cedar Fair or Six Flags typically have coasters and flat rides in storage they could rapidly deploy. Not that Revere beach is lacking in patrons, but it lacks the soul you find south on the Jersey Shore and north at Kennebunkport and such.

I may have said it before, but I find Wildwood, NJ to be the epitome of what a summer beach destination should be. Its got very similar bones to Revere, right down to the bay/swamp|land|ocean layout. Where it stands apart is a massive emphasis on the boardwalk atmosphere, which Revere strongly lacks. A big part of this issue is way too many streets blocking access to and from the beach, too much green parkland (you have the beach, you don't need a park right next to it) and not enough attractions (garbage stores, arcades, ice cream, crappy pizza, etc)

Revere Beach Blvd should be closed from Eliot Circle to Revere Street. The beachfront half should be converted to a 40' wide boardwalk, while the other half and that useless park between Ocean Ave and RBB sold for dense redevelopment with 100% mandated retail along the boardwalk. Have all this culminate at a new coaster and amusement center at Wonderland. North of Revere St it can be more miami-beachy with condos right on the water and less of an amusement feel. I would also push for a one stop extension to Oak Island, as there are some light industrial and otherwise sparcely developed parcels that could support some really dense, tall TOD. Make Oak Island a literal island of tallness at the end of the BL.
 
^ Awesome plan. Just want to point out, though, that places like Wildwood have an economy that is 100% based on summer crowds and hotel occupancy, and is nothing like a commuter suburb. There must be hundreds of small inns or motels around a place like Wildwood.

Coney Island is one of the few places in the northeast I can think of that doubles as commuter suburb and slightly downmarket summer beach playground.
 
do you think Old Orchard Beach, Maine, is a good model for Revere to follow?
 
Ron Newman said:
do you think Old Orchard Beach, Maine, is a good model for Revere to follow?
Click to expand...

Come to think of it, I think I meant OOB and not Kennebunkport. I'm a NY/Jersey native, my knowledge of NE shore towns is admittedly slight.

As for Wildwood being mostly seasonal, its completely true (my friends and I used to go down there in the winter and get adjoining suites for like $40 a night, it was awesome. NOTHING was open though. But, Revere has quick access to downtown Boston (better than Coney Island), and a few hotels of its own. Tourists might stay an extra day if it meant a day at the beach, which is a good thing since Boston is a see-it-in-a-weekend town, and more locals might head up there vs other places with it's great transit access if there was a boardwalk.

I don't think amusements+boardwalk could ever be a standalone attraction on their own like the Jersey or Maine shores, but with Boston attached and property tax incentives, it could really make Revere Beach a much more interesting, attractive, and sales tax generating place. Right now its just kind of sad. The beach itself is excellent, but there is just so much asphalt and empty space to go with relatively little nothing to do. It doesn't have the charm of what I've seen of the south shore or the ruggedness of the north shore. It's obviously a place that's missing what made it special.
 
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This is near Wonderland Station in Revere Beach, part of Waterfront Square, this project.


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Every time I see it, it looks worse. Please tell me that blank concrete or whatever is NOT final. It reminds me of the commie blocks down the street. Jesus Christ.
 
Here's the Master Plan. I'm guessing these are the low-rise buildings at the far right (north).

Waterfront-Square_Master-Plan-Rendering.jpg


Look, it's all perfectly ghastly. Down to the footbridge, the gratuitous roadway gratuitously separating park from beach (wtf), and the middle-finger surface lot. Nonetheless, they're talking about 80,000 square feet of retail. That's good. And a quite large beachfront hotel. That's good.

Of course, this would be better...

RevereHistory_2_PierDancingPavilion.jpg


So yeah, it sucks. But it's still somehow progress. Let's get people back to the beach area there, and then maybe a real vision will follow. Somehow, maybe.
 
Bet that they'll want a whole boatload of money to stay there! :eek:
 
This is the kind of bullshit my fatass mayor lets pass while he froths over a fucking casino deal. Then he'll probably tout about this "wonderful" project in his next monthly email. Gimme a break.
 
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