Blueprint for Success: Mayor Carlo DeMaria’s Master Plan for Everett
Imagine a city that’s no longer defined by what it used to be—old factories, brownfields, neglected waterfronts—but by what it can become: vibrant, connected, thriving, and rooted in its community. That’s the story of Carlo DeMaria, and you’ll find his full, compelling journey laid out in the great piece from Boston Man Magazine titled “Blueprint for Success: Mayor Carlo DeMaria’s Master Plan for Everett.” BostonMan Magazine.
If you’re looking to understand not only what leadership looks like, but how one leader has turned bold vision into tangible results—and how he plans to keep pushing the bar—this article is an absolute must-read.
From Paper Boy to Mayor: A Humble Beginning
The article opens with Carlo DeMaria looking out across the Mystic River waterfront in Everett, Massachusetts—where once stood industrial decay, now a waterfront in transformation. His origin story is refreshingly grounded: as a kid delivering newspapers in his hometown, asked by a neighbor to run for city council at 20, and then making good on that leap. He’s not a career politician insulated from the everyday life of his community—he is his community. And that matters.
A Vision Built from the Ground Up
What resonates most in the article is how he doesn’t chase flash projects. He begins with the infrastructure, the fundamentals—water systems, sewer, sidewalks, lighting, cleaning up contaminated brownfields. That groundwork is critical. Many cities chase headline developments but neglect the basics that make neighborhoods livable. DeMaria flips that script. For a city like Everett—a working-class, gateway city with typical challenges—this methodical mindset matters. He turned sites that once were liabilities (brownfields) into the launching pad for major private investment. One emblematic moment: the former Monsanto chemical site, once a symbol of environmental neglect, transformed into the site of the $2.4 billion resort project. And yet—what’s notable—he doesn’t celebrate that as the endpoint. He sees it as the catalyst for what comes next.
Smart Growth. Smart Transit. Smart Housing.
The article also digs into his master planning: making transit central, building housing where it connects to public transit, limiting parking to reduce congestion, dropping costs for residents. He argues: if you can reduce car dependency, you reduce cost of living. Housing becomes more accessible. That’s not just policy jargon—it’s lived logic.
The Mayor is aiming for dense, walkable neighborhoods, mixed‐use space, retail and housing and transit all layered together. He calls it an “ecosystem.” This isn’t incremental thinking. It’s strategic. It’s visionary. And it’s rooted in a real city with real people.
Community First: Senior Citizens, Veterans, Kids, Workers
As much as the big developments are impressive, the article points out what DeMaria says he’s most proud of: the programs and services that touch day-to-day lives.
Seniors whose rents are rising. Veterans. Young people needing job skills. He’s not just building towers—he’s building opportunity. For example: During the pandemic, his city delivered 600 meals a day to seniors’ homes. It’s small in one sense—but huge in what it says about priorities. And on the education front—he’s rethinking high school, thinking vocational training, climate tech, life sciences—not just college for college’s sake.
Again—leadership that isn’t just upward glitz; but outward and inclusive.