City Happy with Three Proposals for Everett Square Parking Lot

The City has received three proposals for mixed-use redevelopments of the Everett Square municipal parking lot, and will analyze all three in the coming months.

Planning Director Tony Sousa said after a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) went out this summer, they had three companies submit proposals for the 1.5-acre lot between Sacro Plaza and the Bouvier building right in the heart of the Square.

The desire, he said, was to see what kind of a development atmosphere was out there for a prime piece of City-owned property, close to transit and in an area the City would like to see jump started.

The answer was three good proposals.

“We’re really excited about the three proposals and we’ll be looking at them to make sure they meet the goals and objectives in the RFQ,” he said. “The next step, if we decide to move forward, would be to ask for more detailed proposals and look at each developers’ qualifications and finances…If we do decide to move forward in developing this municipal property, we want to understand whether the developer has the ability and capability of doing the project they are proposing to do.”

The three developers that have submitted RFQs are:

  • The Neighborhood Developers of Chelsea (currently working on redevelopment of the former St. Teresa’s Church on Broadway).
  • Peregrine Group (new to Everett and hailing from Rhode Island).
  • Richard DiGirolamo (an attorney from Somerville who represents many development projects in the Greater Boston area).

Sousa said the vision of the RFQ was to revitalize Everett Square by activating underutilized properties. With this being a City-owned parcel, it was one they were able to move on quickly and decisively.

“In essence, the vision of the RFQ is to activate Everett Square,” he said. “The site is 1.5 acres is very closely situated to transit, and we wanted something that would take advantage of the transit we have…When it comes to appearances, we want something that is modern, but not something overbearing to its neighbors like the IC Church or the Whittier Building.”

There is no timeline for moving forward, but Sousa said they will continue to evaluate the three proposals that have come in by the deadline.

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