Story and Photos by Marianne Salza
The HYM Investment Group presented its Suffolk Downs development update focusing on construction on the Beachmont side of the parcel as well as the concert series during the April 14 Orient Heights Neighborhood Council (OHNC) Monthly Meeting at the YMCA on Ashley Street. It had been a year since HYM’s last community update.
Amaya, the development’s first apartment building, opened in July 2024 with 475 units: 93% are studios and one-bedroom apartments, and 7% are two bedrooms. Of those units, 290 are leased, with over 300 people living in the building today.
“We’re excited to have our first building open because it allows us to start more activities and events,” said Doug Manz, Partner/Chief Investment Officer, HYM.
Amaya has 24,000 square feet of retail space. The HYM Group is in negotiation with a handful of retailors, and hopes to have a restaurant open in 2026.
“What’s really exciting is we have our first two retail tenants,” emphasized Manz. “We have a brewery, Twisted Fate Brewing, opening this June, and we also have The Point Barre and Yoga studio, opening later in the fall.”
Amaya has two courtyards associated with the residential building.
Locally owned and operated Twisted Fate Brewing is a 1,900 square feet tap room with light bites. This is the brewery’s second location.
This is also the second location of The Point Barre and Yoga, a 1,200 square feet space, owned by East Boston residents.
The HYM Group also described key locations abutting Orient Heights: The Track, Dog Park @ the Track, The Paddock, and the Stage @ Suffolk Downs, concentrating on Beachmont Plaza, its first open space, The Yard @ Beachmont Square, a new site activation area, and the Dog Park @ the Yard.
“We’re providing the community with an outdoor space to come together,” said Rachel Ottley, Vice President of Retail, HYM.
The HYM Group encourages Revere and East Boston residents to explore the spaces. The HYM Group, in partnership with Revere Parks & Recreation, recently presented the Marathon Daffodil Dash at The Track @ Suffolk Downs, which will reopen for walking on Monday, May 21.
The Yard @ Beachmont Square is an active and passive area for recreation. Half of the parcel is stone dust, and the other half is astroturf, which is currently being outfitted with furniture.
There was a soft launch on the astroturf area with a Pop Up Tree Farm in November and December 2024, with plans to offer the Christmas tree market again this year.
The HYM Group also partnered with the City of Revere on Saturday, April 19 for a Spring Pop Up Market. The farmers’ market will be held again on Saturdays, May 17 and June 11, from 11am-2pm, at 10 Suffolk Downs Boulevard, Revere, steps away from Beachmont Station.
Summer Tracktivities will be free, hour-and-a-half-long programming on Thursdays for children in the summer.
Blue Line Flex, a summer series of free, outdoor fitness classes, will be held every Tuesday, at 6pm, and Saturday, at 10am at The Yard @ Beachmont Square from June through September.
The HYM Group will be launching a Thursday series at The Yard in early May with events such as Yappy Hour, featuring live music, food trucks, and fun for dog friends. Yappy Hour gathers June through September.
“We’re excited about 2025,” boasted Ottley.
The Stage @ Suffolk Downs will be presenting outdoor concerts starting on Friday, May 30, with a performance by Teddy Swims. The venue’s season is May through October, with room for 8,500 attendees.
The show day’s schedule includes sound checks early in the afternoon. Parking lots open at 4pm. The venue opens its doors at 5:30pm. Concerts begin at 7pm and conclude at 10:30pm, with parking lots anticipated to empty by 11:30pm.
Boston Police Captain Bickerton mentioned that last year, the Boston Police Department had one noise complaint, assuring residents that HYM has affirmed that there would be no sound checks during school hours.
“We addressed it. I hold everybody accountable – especially people coming into the neighborhood. Residents are my primary concern,” emphasized Captain Bickerton. “We spoke about decibel readings after each show. They did well last year. The year before, not so much, but we made a lot of changes. They put a lot of sound equipment out that I asked for. They tracked it on Waldemar Ave., at the fence line, and at the stage.”
Residents at the OHNC Monthly Meeting explained their dismay regarding the lack of trees on the property, describing them as sparce among the large amounts of asphalt, which will cause walkways to become hot during the summer months.
“We’re still in the early stages of the project, so there will be a lot more trees that will come. Also, we can’t put up trees against the building sites until they’re build,” said Manz. “We have over 25% of the site, or 40 acres of open space. Be patient. You’re going to see more trees this year because we’re going to be doing the bike path along Winthrop Avenue, so street trees will be planted there, as well.”
When asked if HYM would consider planting groves of trees, Manz responded that a central common would be coming on the Revere side, with 15 acres which will include many trees.
Livia Costa, Administrative Assistant, Eastie Farm, inquired about planting low-maintenance native species, voicing concern about astroturf in The Yard @ Beachmont Square, as opposed to grass.
“This is an interim plaza,” said Manz. “There will eventually be a park building there. Part of it is we’re looking at doing a lot of site activation events there. The ability to keep that as grass is difficult. The smaller oval is real grass. Otherwise, there is no plan for artificial turf for larger areas. Biodiversity is important to us.”
The HYM Group will be constructing an outdoor amphitheater, a one-acre park with a pond and step seating. The public space will open in the spring of 2026. The HYM Group has already broken ground on the site, which is a combination stormwater detention basin and small performance venue for local artists.
“It’s going to be beautiful with a lot of trees,” described Manz. “Seating will be on both sides, with a walkway.”
The HYM Group installed its first part of the roadway network since purchasing the site in 2017.
A resident at the OHNC Meeting requested a community update on how HYM is designing the roadways and their resiliency approaches.
“We did go through an extensive permitting process,” assured Manz. “We did complete our first berm at the end of Washburn Avenue on the Revere side. It protects from up to three feet of sea level rise on the Beachmont side. A lot of roadways will have rain gardens.”
Manz pointed out the raised areas on the infield of The Track, explaining that HYM will raise grades on the site over time and has plans to return with details as they move forward with construction.
“We have over $43 million worth of on-site improvements that exist in different parts of East Boston and Revere to help with congestion,” added Manz, when concerns were raised about traffic build-up in the area. “We will see some of those improvements in the next few years.”
The HYM Group is in the early development phase of a community path that will be integrated into plans on the Boston side and have permeable pavement. The HYM Group has an obligation to connect a bike path from the site to Constitution Beach. The route has been approved by the Boston Conservation Commission.
Manz added that only 40% of Amaya residents have vehicles. Out of the 290 residents, 10 bikes are stored in the bike room space. The HYM Group has recently opened a Bluebikes station on the site outside Beachmont Station.
“They love the Blue Line location,” exclaimed Manz about Amaya residents. “The Blue Line is driving our rental traffic, which is great. They love being ten minutes from Downtown Boston, and love being in East Boston and Revere.”
This summer, HYM expects to break ground on a second building, Portico. The 473-unit residential building, located near Beachmont Station, will take two years to construct. There will be 30,000 square feet of retail space at the base of Portico, as well as 22,000 square feet of amenities with roof lounges and a courtyard.
This fall, HYM will be breaking ground on a national flag hotel on Winthrop Avenue. The hotel will include a rooftop restaurant.
The HYM Group plans to provide annual development update presentations. Visit http://atsuffolkdowns.com/ to learn more about construction updates and information about upcoming community programs and concerts.