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An extensive period of investment and revitalization for a transit-oriented neighborhood located next to Revere Beach and an MBTA stop culminated with a celebratory ribbon-cutting in May for the opening of Fitzhenry Dog Park.
The multiyear investment in Revere’s Shirley Avenue corridor, which prioritized community engagement and vision, was made possible by collaborative efforts between the city, state agencies, neighborhood groups and local businesses.
The public space improvements, which include the renovated Flaherty Square and a Shirley Avenue pocket park, were largely resident-driven through a participatory budgeting process.
Over the last decade, the Shirley Avenue neighborhood began to see significant housing development, primarily of studio and one-bedroom apartments, along with public investments.
“It’s one of our older neighborhoods in the city, and certainly over the last two decades was in a bit of a need of revitalization,” said Mayor Patrick Keefe Jr.
The participatory budgeting process was part of a broader partnership with MassDevelopment through the Transformative Development Initiative, which partners with communities to strengthen downtowns and commercial districts in Gateway Cities. Beginning in September of 2022, Revere had a program fellow, Laura Christopher, who focused on accelerating growth and development and community center development in the neighborhood. The designation is typically for three years, but Revere’s was extended for an additional year.
“And along with TDI, we had a full suite of state resources — through MassDevelopment, through [the Executive Office of] Housing and Livable Communities, through the Executive Office of Economic Development — for targeted investment in the neighborhood,” said Planning and Community Development Chief Tom Skwierawski. “So we had a lot of eyes on the neighborhood, and we had a lot of funding going toward the neighborhood.”
Seeking to prioritize community wants and needs, the city used federal CARES Act and Community Block Development Grant funding, matched by funding from the Housing Choice Program and Revere’s Community Improvement Trust (a local fund dedicated to community projects, supported by fees from developments requiring a special permit or variance), to pull together over $500,000 to “take the show on the road,” Skwierawski said, to engage with residents at in-person meetings, community events, and through an online platform. At these points of engagement, people were able to show support for various projects and priorities using ranked-choice voting.
More than 600 people voted, Skwierawski said, and the three new parks are a direct result of the process.
“Everyone had a chance to vote on some of the specific areas that they were looking to see improved and how they were looking to see dollars spent,” Mayor Keefe said. “Of course, open space revitalization was one of the top areas, specifically the dog park, which was high on a lot of people’s lists.”
A small, city-owned, vacant lot was transformed into a landscaped area with seating as the site of the Shirley Avenue pocket park, also known as the community forest.
Residents had informally used Fitzhenry Park as a dog park for years before the investment upgraded the space. And Flaherty Square, which had previously been a traffic island, was turned into a seating area with new landscaping and trees.
The partnership with MassDevelopment has concluded, and with it the additional staff capacity provided by the program fellow, Skwierawski said. The city is now working on some additional neighborhood priorities that came out of the process, including a tree master plan, public art, and a decorative lighting project, to be completed sometime in the fall.
“It’s probably been, at this point, well over a million dollars of investment,” Skwierawski said.
Having a TDI program fellow, the cumulative funding resources, and invested community partners were key factors in being able to complete a project of this magnitude.
“You have to be patient, take small steps,” Keefe said. “You have to be willing to allow for investment. Make sure that it matches what you’re looking for, but don’t let perfect stand in the way of something really good.”