Suffolk Downs developer: Big first phase poised to start near Beachmont T stop

Developer HYM Investment Group plans to move ahead with the first phase of the redevelopment of the old Suffolk Downs racetrack on the East Boston-Revere line—never mind Amazon.

Recall that the 161-acre site was seen as the ideal place for Amazon’s second headquarters should the e-commerce behemoth pick Boston—a fact that apparently spurred planning at the site. The e-commerce behemoth did not pick Boston. Instead, it opted for Queens, New York, and Crystal City, Virginia.

But Suffolk Downs’ redevelopment is moving ahead regardless, something we already knew was a possibility but that now is coming into more focus given Amazon’s decision.

The mixed-use first phase of the redevelopment is expected to run to 1.4 million square near the Beachmont stop of the Blue Line in Revere, just over the Eastie line. HYM wants to start construction in 2019, per the Globe’s Jon Chesto.

Altogether, the redevelopment of Suffolk Downs is supposed to create 16.5 million square feet of residential, retail, office, hotel, and lab space built out over as long as two decades. Stay tuned.

• We may have ‘lost’ Amazon HQ2 but we still won in other ways [Globe]
• Major Boston development: 9 projects transforming the city [Curbed Boston]
• Suffolk Downs redevelopment moving forward, possibly toward Amazon [Curbed Boston]
• Amazon’s second headquarters is not coming to Boston, and that’s okay [Curbed Boston]