Though the city of Revere has one of the highest percentages of affordable housing within its borders compared to the rest of Massachusetts, officials are taking the first steps in a plan designed to bring in even more. At the same, they’re hoping the move will spark revitalization in some of Revere’s neighborhoods that will eventually catch on all over the city.

Without many open tracts of developable land left in Revere, Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino said he is looking to do an “in-fill” development of the city, where individual vacant lots scattered throughout the city are developed in already-existing neighborhoods rather than having one large-scale development project.

“I know if there’s any city that has its share of affordable housing, it’s Revere,” Ambrosino said. “But in some of the more economically depressed neighborhoods, we’re trying to get some of this in-fill housing.

“This is brand new,” he said of the plan, which was only started a few months ago. “Right now we’re trying to take a few baby steps to see if we can get this to work.” He added that Revere took the cue to reuse vacant lots from seeing similar successful projects in neighboring cities like Chelsea and Boston.

According to William Ash, deputy director of the city’s housing and community development office, developing the new housing units would have several benefits for the Revere.

“There are a lot of city-owned vacant lots,” he said. “Our intent is to get them back on the tax rolls and create some more affordable housing at the same time.”

The most important aspect of the plan, both Ambrosino and Ash said, is that all of the newly constructed buildings would be owner-occupied. In lots that used to be home to anywhere from six to 10 units of housing, the city would construct two-unit structures.

“The in-fill housing would be owner-occupied two-family homes,” Ambrosino said. “It would be a single-family unit with an apartment, and it would be affordable to first-time homebuyers.

“We want to make [the new residents] feel like they have an ownership in the neighborhood,” Ambrosino continued. “We’re putting them in areas typically inhabited with six- to 10-unit buildings that, for the most part, are owned by absentee landlords who are not too concerned with what goes on in the neighborhood.”

Officials are hoping the pride that residents take in their home ownership units will spread, prompting residents to spruce up their homes and take better care of the neighborhoods. “[The owners] will be concerned with how the street looks,” Ambrosino said.

“Right now you’ve got vacant lots, and people either park their cars all over them or put their trash on them. We want to get housing on them, and owner-occupied housing is what’s best,” Ash said.

“We’re replacing lots that were originally six-family lots with two-family lots, so there will be less congestion than was there before, which is a positive effect on the area,” he continued.

The first vacant lots to be tested in the program are a group of adjacent properties on Highland Street. The buildings that stood on the sites were demolished after fire ravaged through them about a decade ago.

A few parcels on nearby streets are also being considered for redevelopment. “We looked hard at which parcels in which neighborhoods would have the best chance going through for the first time, and these were the ones we chose,” Ambrosino said.

“We’re going to do a few properties first to see how successful it is, then hopefully expand it a little,” Ash added.

Officials submitted a letter stating its intent for the vacant parcels to the City Council, which is currently discussing the matter in a subcommittee that works with housing issues. The plan has the full support of the mayor, and Revere Federal Savings Bank has expressed an interest in working with a developer on financing the new housing, Ash said.

Because the plan is still in an early stage, Ash said there are no designs for any of the buildings, nor is there a firm budget or a timeline for when any of the buildings might be finished.

“We hope to move quickly on this” if the City Council approves it, Ash said. “It’s a busy construction time, but hopefully that won’t hurt us. Contractors seem interested in submitting proposals.”

Ash said he has received “more positive than negative” responses for the proposal, including support from John J. Perez, who represents the ward where Highland Street is located on the City Council. Ambrosino, however, said the program might meet resistance from some councilors. “The councilors have greeted this with some skepticism,” Ambrosino said.

“I think a couple of neighbors would like to continue to use the lots as a parking lot,” Ash said, “but that’s only serving themselves.”

Attracting Artists
In addition to traditional affordable units, Ambrosino said he also considering looking at ways to attract artists to Revere in a campaign similar to those conducted by Chelsea and Lawrence. However, he said he has not been able to find a site yet that is suitable for conversion into artists’ loft space.

While the mayor sees the addition of affordable housing as a benefit, Ambrosino only hopes it will carry over and help his first priority of revitalizing the commercial and industrial space in town.

“This city is primed to be the next one that takes off,” he said. “This is Charlestown five or six years ago. It’s the next big site that’s going to get developed. Our beach is beautiful, and we have a lot of development interest along the beach.” And while pursuing commercial interests may be separate from residential, having revitalized neighbors could prove enticing to potential developers interested in working in the city.

“With the Blue Line, we’re only 10 minutes away from Boston for people living here,” Ambrosino said. “This city is ready.”