Chelsea, MA — City officials, environmental advocates, and development leaders gathered last week to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Chelsea Creek Waterfront Project, a long-anticipated public access and resilience initiative set to transform a key parcel of waterfront land in Chelsea, MA.
The project, a collaboration between the City of Chelsea and InterPark/PreFlight, will introduce a scenic walkway connecting Eastern Avenue to a new public observation area along Chelsea Creek. Designed to honor the area’s maritime heritage and bolster the city’s environmental resilience, the new access point is the first phase in what officials hope will catalyze future commercial redevelopment.
“This project has been a long time in the making and today marks a significant step forward for our community,” said Fidel Maltez, City Manager of Chelsea. “This project lays the foundation for something even more transformative… (creating) the framework necessary for PreFlight to redevelop the site, envision new industrial and commercial buildings rising out of the current parking lots – bringing with them good-paying jobs, much-needed tax revenue, and access to our waterfront.”
Located on a 22.65-acre parcel—comprising 19 acres of land and 3.5 acres of water—currently used by PreFlight as a long-term parking lot, the site will undergo a dramatic visual and functional transformation. The new pathway will feature native plantings including Seaside Goldenrod, Switchgrass, Red Maple, and Pitch Pine, along with reclaimed granite block seating, a nautical rope and post barrier, and a historic anchor as a nod to Chelsea’s seafaring roots.
“This is a complicated site with a complicated history, and we’re trying to figure out a future that balances the needs of all the stakeholders,” said Jim Mueller, CEO of InterPark/PreFlight. “It’s important for the City of Chelsea in terms of economic development, jobs, and connecting the waterway to the community…but here’s a chance for us to rethink what it could be in the future.”
The initiative is a key piece of Chelsea’s broader climate resilience strategy, aimed at reducing urban heat, increasing tree canopy, and managing stormwater through green infrastructure. It also builds on years of advocacy and relationship-building with community groups like GreenRoots, a local organization focused on environmental justice and public health.
“Access to the waterfront is finally coming about, and (we’re) really excited about that,” said John Walkey, Director of Climate Justice at GreenRoots. “The partnership we have with PreFlight has been fantastic… the relationships between the state, the City, and the community to get public access (to the waterway) has meant a lot.”
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), along with other state and local agencies, has also played a central role in shaping the project, which is expected to open to the public by mid-summer 2025.
While there are no immediate redevelopment plans beyond the new access path, all eyes are on the site’s long-term potential to support mixed-use commercial and light industrial development.
“This is a small step, but it’s a tangible step toward the development of this parcel in the future, and that’s something that we’re very excited about and happy to be a part of,” said Mueller.
The Chelsea Creek Waterfront Project reflects a growing movement in urban planning—one that combines community access, environmental resilience, and economic opportunity in historically underutilized areas.
