BOSTON — Revere is among nine areas north of Boston that the state’s economic chief has called poised for an economic boom, comparing it to thriving Brooklyn, N.Y.
Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki this week finished a tour that started in April of nine neighborhoods and urban centers north of Boston where officials believe the conditions are ripe for a business and housing renaissance.
As real estate prices and space in Boston and Cambridge become untenable for young professionals and innovation start-ups, Bialecki believes the cities and towns north of the city are poised to reap the benefits and become an extension of Boston — under the right circumstances.
“There are people who want to use the analogy of a Brooklyn, and I would say that is not a bad comparison,” Bialecki said.
The metro north region, as envisioned by economic development officials, consists of the disconnected Boston neighborhoods of Charlestown and East Boston and the cities of Somerville, Medford, Everett, Revere, Winthrop, Chelsea and Malden.
The comparison to Brooklyn has been fostered by what has happened in New York City over the past decade or more as businesses unable to locate in Manhattan and middle class families and young professionals priced out of island real estate have transitioned to the borough of Brooklyn, leading to a boom in restaurants, business, apartments, a new arena and other amenities.
Bialecki said the same could be possible in Metro North with the right investments in transportation to link workers with jobs in Boston, more housing options and an infusion of restaurants and other social venues that would allow the next generation to “live, work and play” in the cities ringing Boston.
“We’re trying to help get the word out to businesses and investors to think about these places when they maybe wouldn’t have thought of them in the past,” Bialecki said. He said it is not unrealistic to expect the “innovation economy” to double over the next 10 years, but that growth could not likely be accommodated in Boston and Cambridge alone.
The administration is still working to quantify the size of the innovation economy.
Though Bialecki and his team have met individually with leaders from each community, representatives from all nine locales are expected to gather Monday in Boston to discuss next steps and solutions to transportation improvements and other upgrades that will benefit all.
In addition to improving transportation options with projects like the Green Line extension, Bialecki said he’s focused on encouraging developers with whom the administration has a relationship to look at cities like Medford, Chelsea and Everett, add mid-priced hotels in the region to accommodate travelers through Logan Airport and to Boston for conventions and other business, streamline the permitting processes and build the “food industry,” including new restaurants, food trucks, small breweries and small specialty food stores.
Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, a Chelsea Democrat who also represents Charlestown, said he’s seen the positive developments in his district happening for the last 15 years. “It’s not a surprise to me, but it’s great that people are talking about it and noticing,” he said, willing to accept the Brooklyn analogy. “I’m going to take that as a positive comparison. It’s a great marketing campaign.”
O’Flaherty said Charlestown enjoys an active civic community and has seen condominium developments attract a “young hip crowd” fostering a vibrant arts scene. The new Spaulding Rehabilitation Center at the Navy Yard and the location of a wind turbine testing facility have also brought jobs to the neighborhood.
In Chelsea, similar trends have been underway with 1,300 new housing units added since 2005, 10 new parks funded with state grants and a boom in film production and successful local businesses like the Mystic Brewery. The FBI has plans to build a new 250,000 square-foot headquarters in Chelsea to house 300 to 400 employees who will relocate from downtown Boston.
“All of this is very attractive to people looking for a place to live,” said O’Flaherty, noting that Chelsea is actually closer to downtown Boston than 80 percent of the neighborhoods in the city proper.
MassDOT is already heavily involved in community discussions to extend the Silver Line bus routes to Chelsea, but Bialecki said Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria might like to see the Silver Line extend even further into his city.
Everett and East Boston competing to build a casino in eastern Massachusetts, and Bialecki said he met recently with a developer building over 300 new luxury units in the former Charleston Chew factory in Everett that are expected to rent for $2,000 a month, a price and level of amenity unique for the industrial city.
“The transportation infrastructure needs attention because there has been a lot of growth and with growth comes congestion,” said O’Flaherty, who supports the Silver Line extension.
Bialecki said there are also discussions ongoing about the feasibility of extending water taxi service up the Mystic River, as well as other water transport options that could be linked to a casino.
“We’re going to identify what are the most promising next steps in development,” Bialecki said, looking forward to the meeting on Monday.
Much of the development in these former industrial cities has been made possible by state economic development investments to help developers rehabilitate and clean up former industrial sites and repurpose those locations for housing, retail and mixed-use development.
Bialecki said it has been made easier by the communities themselves, who have welcomed growth with open arms.