enVision:New Hotel Features Big Nod to Everett History, to Open by April 1

By Seth Daniel

The enVision Hotel on Revere Beach Parkway is in the final stages of construction and will likely open on or before April 1, and the design of the new hotel is all about Everett.

From old maps of Everett, to sewing machines harkening back to the days of the old building being a local shoe factory, to custom pillows in the room emblazoned with ‘Everett Sewing Factory,’ the hotel leaves no one in doubt as to what city they are staying in.

“We hope to have a soft opening next week,” said Matthew Caraballo, guest specialist at the hotel. “That will hopefully be on March 30 or April 1. That’s what we’re shooting for.”

Approximately one year ago, City and business leaders gathered with principles from Global Vision Hotels to break ground on the complete renovation of the old Shoe Factor on the Parkway – likely to be the pioneer in a movement to transform the older industrial properties along the hot development corridor of Rt. 16. Now, one year later, what was old is brand new.

Walking through the front door, one notices the nod to the old days confronting the new décor and tasteful carpeting.

The front desk is made up of old, vintage suitcases sourced at local flea markets by noted designer Jessica Smith. Those suitcases were all once used by travelers, and now they form the base of the front desk – which is finished off with a zinc counter in a nod to the industrial past of the building.

Among the flowing natural light and modern furniture in the foyer, there will also be old sewing machines.

“It’s a very unique look in the lobby,” said Caraballo. “We will have vintage sewing machines placed along the front windows because this used to be a shoe factory back in the day. We’ll have them as part of the décor throughout the lobby.”

The will have 101 rooms, the largest property so far for the company in Massachusetts. They now own and operate a hotel in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston with 39 rooms.

The lobby also contains a bistro that will serve food and beer and wine. There will be hot breakfast options as well.

Additionally, the lobby is a place for fun.

On the wall is a Scrabble board and Caraballo said travelers want to socialize more nowadays in the lobby. Games and book clubs are very popular among guests. He said on any given night, he could envision guests playing Scrabble and other games in the lobby.

A small meeting room of 1,300 sq. ft. to accommodate about 40 or 50 people is also on the ground floor, and a separate building – which is now connected to the hotel – will host the fitness center.

In the rooms, one is immediately hit by the back wallpaper that is an historic map of Everett, Revere and Chelsea – basically the Parkway corridor. There is also ‘Everett’ pillows on the chairs and snappy vintage telephones in the rooms,  as well as repurposed telephone poles that have been cut to form headboards for the beds– another touch of fine work by Smith.

Caraballo said Global Vision also operates a similar hotel in South St. Paul, MN. It, also, is an old historic building and was the mold for the remodeling of the Everett property.

“We like to refurbish older buildings and keep them keep their story alive and keep that industrial feel to them,” he said. “We are part of the Ascend Collection by Choice Hotels and that gives us a lot of leeway in terms of what we can do and provide and the story we can tell with the building. We want to keep it as much about Everett as possible.”

As for the business aspect, Caraballo said the property is close to downtown Boston and Logan Airport. They expect to draw from those two aspects, but they also believe they will tap into corporate clients as well.

They believe local accounts with BNY Mellon, Exxon, Exelon and they already have a contract with the Mystic Power Station.

There is also the Wynn Boston Harbor casino coming soon as well. They said they would like to shuttle people from the hotel to the casino, not only for the casino amenities, but also as a way to tie into the water shuttle system that will go to Boston.

“We are really happy with the reception of the hotel by the Everett community,” he said. “We are happy to be Everett’s first hotel.”

Caraballo said they are planning a Grand Opening party soon and hope to bring in live music and food trucks toe celebrate. They also envision some open houses and community events in the future.

The general manager of the property is Dana Depelteau.

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