Revere Fire Station Arts & Culture Concept Plan
The City of Revere has developed a concept plan for a community arts center, to be located at 931 Winthrop Avenue, a city-owned, decommissioned fire station in Beachmont neighborhood.
The MAPC Arts & Culture Department provided technical assistance on developing a strategy for the successful and sustainable implementation of a community space, informed by a thoughtful and participatory community engagement process.
Over the past year and a half, MAPC has worked with the City of Revere to convene stakeholders, establish a Project Working Group and develop and employ a community engagement strategy to understand the community’s needs and priorities for new community space in the City. With guidance from the Project Working Group, MAPC used this engagement to solicit feedback that represents the diverse communities living and working in Revere. Complementing this insight, MAPC identified relevant case studies and investigated relevant operating models to inform use and programming recommendations for a future center.
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The City of Revere has identified a city-owned, decommissioned fire station as a potential facility to be repurposed as a community arts center and has engaged the MAPC Arts & Culture Department to provide technical assistance in a community visioning process. Launched in fall 2022, the process will culminate in September 2023 with a Concept Plan authored by MAPC to guide the successful and sustainable implementation of a community space, informed by a thoughtful and participatory community engagement process.
Over the past year, MAPC has worked with the City of Revere to convene stakeholders, establish a Project Working Group and develop and employ a community engagement strategy to understand the community’s needs and priorities for new community space in the City. With guidance from the Project Working Group, MAPC used this engagement to solicit feedback that represents the diverse communities living and working in Revere. Complementing this insight, MAPC identified relevant case studies and investigated relevant operating models to inform use and programming recommendations for a future center.
PROJECT TIMELINE (Image)
QUESTIONS?
For more information about the project, contact [email protected].
Project Timeline (written)
In the News
- Beachmont Fire Station Focus Group | January 31, 2023
Watch the Focus Group meeting via RevereTV on YouTube
Background
Built in 1901, the 4,000 square foot fire station is in the Beachmont neighborhood at 931 Winthrop Avenue. Since the station was decommissioned in 2008, it has been used by the Revere Fire Department as a storage space for materials and equipment. While the facility has fallen into disrepair, community members and Revere’s City Council have discussed the building’s potential as a community center since 2019, with noted priorities of creating additional space for arts activities and preserving the building as a significant piece of Revere’s history. As part of a due diligence process, the City has performed structural and hazardous material assessments of the building to inform the visioning process.
Initial support for redevelopment as a community arts center has been expressed by key local stakeholders including Mayor Brian Arrigo, Ward 1 Councilor McKenna, Revere Fire Department, Revere Public Art Commission, the Beachmont Improvement Committee, and the abutting neighbors to the property.
Revere Fire Station
Photo Courtesy of the Hannah Gathman, MAPC
Project Goals
The project will result in a concept plan to redevelop the Beachmont Fire Station for community use. This plan will articulate the vision of the building as a center for arts and culture, identify the values to guide future programming and provide recommendations for operational considerations for the facility. This Concept Plan will balance priorities and needs identified through community engagement with existing conditions, operational possibilities, and physical considerations of the space.
Case studies will provide guidance for operational models and examples of potential funding sources for similarly situated cultural facilities. In addition, the plan will identify likely users of the space and proposed program of uses based on feedback from the Project Working Group and broader community engagement.
The duration of this project will be ten months, from September 2022 through June 2023.