The former Turkish Cultural Council building at 500 Revere St., a long-disused corner lot near Revere Beach, has finally changed hands and is slated to be demolished for a seven-story apartment building with 112 units. The sale hands control to a developer that has already been in front of local boards seeking approvals for a large residential project on the site.
The transaction was first reported on March 5, and MLS records show the property was recorded as sold on Feb. 27, 2026, for roughly $3.4 million. According to MLS data compiled by BostonPads, the buyer is a developer planning a residential redevelopment of the property.
Zepaj Development is identified in city filings as the applicant that sought permission to raze the former house of worship and replace it with apartments. As reported by the Revere Journal, the Zoning Board of Appeals considered the proposal in December and approved the variances needed to move the project ahead.
Project details
The plan submitted to the city calls for 30 studio units, 58 one-bedrooms and 24 two-bedrooms, plus 52 parking spaces, including 40 beneath the building and 12 around the site. The top floor would push the structure to roughly 69 feet in a zoning district that typically has a 50-foot cap. The applicant told the board it held a community meeting and, in the attorney’s words, "we heard the good, the bad, and the ugly," then revised the design accordingly. Revere Journal
Neighbors push back
Residents who spoke at the hearing and in an online petition warned the project would worsen parking and traffic on the narrow side streets and cast new shadows on nearby homes. The community petition opposing the variances summarized neighborhood concerns and urged more peer review on traffic, engineering and emergency-access impacts. Change.org
Permits and timeline
Recording the deed gives the purchaser site control, but demolition and full construction still depend on building permits, final plan approvals and the usual permitting checks. City of Revere ZBA filings list the variances for height, stories, setbacks and parking. Reporting in the Boston Business Journal notes that those approvals remove a key hurdle but do not substitute for permits from the city’s building and inspection departments.
Why this matters
The sale and approvals at 500 Revere St. are part of a broader push for denser housing along the Revere Street corridor and near transit to Revere Beach, a pattern city officials say will add housing and tax base even as neighbors warn of infrastructure strain. With the purchase complete, the new owner now holds the site control needed to move from concept to permitting, and both neighbors and the city will be watching the demolition and permitting timetable closely. BostonPads
