Mayor DeMaria welcomed a panel of nationally renowned land use and urban planning experts this week as a part of MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative [TDI]. The panel began a five-day evaluation of metro Boston’s growing industrial land development issues. Everett, along with its neighboring City of Malden, was designated as a TDI District in Development last December due to its potential as a vibrant light-industrial area in metro Boston.
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) advisory services program convened the panel in order to help the cities of Everett and Malden create plans for how to build on the growing business and mixed-use developments in specific districts of the cities, as well as how to hone their identities.
MassDevelopment and several local public-private partnerships, including MetroRock Climbing Center, Cumar Marble and Granite and Sky Zone, are sponsoring the advisory work ULI is completing for the City of Everett.
This week, the eight-member panel will examine how the City of Everett can provide development that will help the current jobs base thrive while improving connections to regional infrastructure and adjoining neighborhoods. In addition, the panel will address how the City of Everett better utilize state, city, business and nonprofit partners to catalyze private investment that would advance the overall development vision of the City.
The ULI panel will spend five days touring the Norman Street area (behind Teddy’s Peanut Butter) as well as meeting with stakeholders and members of the local community. After carefully analyzing the area and interviewing up to 100 individuals, the panel will then spend two days framing its recommendations and drafting a report that will be presented to the public. The ULI panel’s recommendations will be presented at 9 a.m. on Friday, June 12 at Rivers Edge in Malden.
“We are very excited for the Urban Land Institute to come to Everett and assess our development,” states Mayor DeMaria. “The City of Everett has been changing substantially over the last few years, and this panel recognizes our growth. The Norman Street area specifically holds a lot of potential for modernization and we welcome the recommendations of these experts.”