Eurovest to lead Wonderland project
Eurovest Development, a Boston-based firm, has been selected to lead a $500 million project at the Wonderland beachfront area, a site chosen by the state as a model for transit-oriented development.
The designation is on a preliminary basis. Eurovest must be able to agree on and execute a land-development agreement with city and state agencies within the next 120 days .
The $485 million proposal includes 902 market-rate residential condominiums, a hotel, an office building, shops, restaurants and jazz clubs, a 12,000-square foot cultural center, and parks and plazas to connect the train station and Revere Beach. When completed in 2019 , the development would produce an estimated $10.5 million annually in taxes and fees for the city and could lead to the creation of 850 permanent jobs.
Eurovest beat out proposals from Federal Revere Associates LLC and Leggat McCall Properties LLC with its mixed-used project, dubbed Waterfront Square at Revere Beach.
"It was a difficult choice because there were three very good proposals, and they all had very good teams," said Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino . "Eurovest's vision was a little bit bolder. They just seemed more enthusiastic about the commercial component to this project, and their phasing was a little bit better."
Officials at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority , the state Department of Conservation and Recreation , and the Office of Commonwealth Development agreed that Eurovest's proposal would be the best to transform the approximately 11-acre Ocean Avenue site into a model for other statewide transit-oriented initiatives, which focus on integrating commercial and residential components near public transit facilities. Governor Mitt Romney chose the site last year to announce his initiative on transit-oriented development.
Having put together what he calls a "world-class team" of developers, designers, and researchers, Eurovest's managing director, Joseph R. DiGangi, said he is excited to get the process started on a project he hopes will become a national model for transit-oriented developments.
"The city has been on the verge of significant change -- a new police station, new schools, new construction on the beach, new infrastructures, improved quality of life, and storm-water systems that work," DiGangi said. "Ten acres of land is a magnificent opportunity to meld into this city's philosophy."
In the next four months, Eurovest officials must sit down with Revere officials as well as representatives from the MBTA, the conservation and recreation department, and Commonwealth Development to hash out the land agreement. Four of the three lots that make up the Ocean Avenue land are state-owned. Ambrosino said it's the city's hope that Eurovest can strike an agreement with Seaside Realty , the owners of the private lot, to be able to develop that land. Eurovest, however, included an alternate design without the use of that lot, he said.
Eurovest's commitment to using only union labor for the construction project attracted praise and a recommendation to the mayor from the Revere Beach Citizens Advisory Committee.
MBTA general manager Daniel Grabauskas said Eurovest's proposal "best fulfills" the authority's goals, objectives, and requirements, which include increased ridership and generation of nonfare revenue from the lease of the parcel. In his recommendation letter to Ambrosino, Grabauskas added that, "Reorienting the access at Wonderland Station will enable the possible future connection to the commuter rail."
In his recommendation letter, Stephen Burrington, commissioner of the conservation and recreation department, told Ambrosino that Eurovest "presented the strongest overall case" for Revere Beach Reservation improvements.
Commonwealth Development's chief, Andrew Gottlieb, said in his letter to Ambrosino that the proposal demonstrated an understanding of the importance of the public realm with features like the civic square and a new boardwalk for the beach, and "will attract investment and help to create lasting sustainable value for Wonderland Station and the City of Revere."
DiGangi, whose firm just completed The Atlantica luxury condominium project on Revere Beach, said his team focused on designing around a "corridor mentality" that would not separate the Wonderland development from the surrounding neighborhoods, such as Shirley Avenue . "I think it's an opportunity that ultimately Revere will be proud of."
Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com. 
