Mayor Keefe Joins Regional Leaders to Break Ground on Historic McKinley School Revitalization
April 17, 2026

REVERE, MA – Today, Mayor Patrick M. Keefe Jr. and the City of Revere hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to officially mark the comprehensive restoration and rehabilitation of the former McKinley Elementary School. The project will creatively repurpose the currently-defunct building at 65 Yeamans Street into a dynamic, mixed-use space featuring the Metro North Regional Emergency Communications Center (MNRECC), in partnership with the City of Chelsea and Town of Winthrop, and a state-of-the-art early childhood education center to be operated by Revere Public Schools.
The redevelopment is a landmark preservation project for the City of Revere. By utilizing much of the existing structure, the city is honoring its architectural history while adaptively reusing the space to meet modern, critical community needs.
Mayor Keefe was joined at the groundbreaking by Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez, Winthrop Town Manager Tony Marino, State Senator Lydia Edwards, State Representative Jeffrey R. Turco, the District Director for Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, MNRECC Director Whitney Morgan, Revere Public Schools Superintendent Dianne Kelly, and project partners from PMA Consultants, Trac, CambridgeSeven, WSP, and GGD Consulting Engineers, Inc.
The revitalized McKinley School will be anchored by two major initiatives:
- Metro North Regional Emergency Communications Center (MNRECC): A tier-one, state-of-the-art emergency dispatch center. Marking a historic collaboration between Revere, the City of Chelsea, and the Town of Winthrop, this new regional partnership will unlock vital state funding, centralize municipal costs, and expand emergency response capacity and efficiency across the Metro North region.
- Early Childhood Education Center: A brand new educational facility that will add 210 new seats for Revere's youngest learners, doubling the city’s current preschool enrollment capacity. This development provides a massive increase in affordable childcare options for working parents in Revere. The City extends its gratitude to State Representatives Jessica Giannino and Jeffrey R. Turco, as well as State Senator Lydia Edwards, for their partnership, including the securing of a $100,000 earmark to support this project.
“The revitalization of the McKinley School is a perfect example of what we can achieve through creative municipal planning and strong regional partnerships,” said Mayor Patrick M. Keefe Jr. "Instead of losing a piece of Revere's history, we are transforming it into a hub that will keep our residents safe and give our youngest learners the educational foundation they deserve. I am incredibly proud to break ground on a project that will benefit Revere, Chelsea, and Winthrop for generations to come.”
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