Juliana Agudelo once thought she’d have to walk away from her business, the F&J Juice Bar Cafe in Revere, after the owner of the building told her it was up for sale.
But with the help of a $25,000 state grant and technical support, Agudelo and a business partner were able to buy the one-story building on busy Shirley Avenue and make it their own.
Now, she says, with every fresh juice or avocado toast she sells, she thinks how fortunate she is.
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“When I go out, I see behind me [and] I say, ‘Oh my God, that’s mine,’” Agudelo told GBH News recently.
Agudelo, who immigrated from Colombia about 10 years ago, says she couldn’t have made the jump without the help of the Transformative Development Initiative, a state program created in 2014 to help revitalize Gateway Cities, former industrial hubs that have long struggled with disinvestment and vacant downtowns.
Stabilization of this colorful cafe, and other businesses along Shirley Avenue — just a short walk from Revere Beach — is a prime example of state efforts to help communities that often feel neglected by state funders in Boston. Revere Mayor Patrick M. Keefe Jr. told GBH News that the street used to be more known for dive bars than healthy cafés and restaurants. He says it’s made a remarkable turnaround.
“The Shirley Ave. neighborhood is probably one of the most transformed neighborhoods, certainly in Revere, in the last decade,” Keefe Jr. said.
Marcos Marrero, who oversees the TDI program run by MassDevelopment, said the initiative started with a need for a more holistic approach to economic development, leveraging collaboration between nonprofits, institutional programs, and local governments. A key benefit, he said, is that the communities are supported by a state-employed fellow who lives in the district and works to connect businesses, city officials and nonprofits.
“We want to be in places where we believe we can make a significant impact over the next three years,” said Marrero, deputy director at MassDevelopment. “We want to make sure that, as the name suggests — transformative — that we can change the dynamics on the ground.”
Supporting downtown areas
Since its inception, TDI has helped 19 cities, including areas of Revere, New Bedford and Pittsfield. The program has helped raise $151 million in “co-investments,” money from other organizations that went into the state-funded programs. There’s also another $241 million in funding that was acquired with the help of the state program and funneled into the communities.
Economic development experts, including Derek Santos, executive director of the New Bedford Economic Development Council, praise the effort, saying strong downtowns are key to a region’s vitality.
“That’s sort of like the living room or family room for everybody,” Santos said. “All of that feeds all neighborhoods in New Bedford and the surrounding towns.”
New Bedford’s TDI program began in 2022 and will end in June. As part of the project, the city received a $125,000 state grantto help restore a historic theater and transform it into a Cape Verdean cultural center.
There’s still much to do. Santos says the city is conducting a market study to explore small-scale urban manufacturing and ways to create direct financial assistance to entrepreneurs through Kickstarter grants and small business lending.
“You have to constantly keep working at it,’’ Santos said, “and make sure that downtown is successful for all businesses, big and small, for all institutions, big and small, for people that are in New Bedford, in the downtown and those that visit here.”
Joe Bevilacqua, immediate past president of the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce, said Gateway Cities have unique economic opportunities in a state where many people — outside the Boston metro area — are looking to avoid the high costs and inconvenience of traveling to the state’s capital and largest city.
Bevilacqua says the Merrimack Valley — a region that includes Lawrence and Lowell — is positioned to be the state’s next major development center. He says it offers residents a self-sustaining place to live and work, with access to quality higher education and health care.
The TDI program in the Merrimack Valley has been an important economic partner, Bevilacqua said. For example, it helped provide funds to Lu’s Café and Bakery, a staple in the Lawrence community, to expand its footprint and create six new full-time jobs.
“No one wants to drive to Boston anymore,” Bevilacqua said. “They don’t want to face that two-hour challenge of driving, the $50 to park your car into Boston. So they’re looking for new locations. And so the opportunity is here.”
New ground
Earlier this year, state officials announced plans to launch its TDI focus on six new districts — Malden, Holyoke, Fitchburg, Chelsea, Peabody and Lowell. They also announced a new effort called the Gateway Network to keep in touch with districts after the program has ended.
“This is an attempt of us to actually say, ‘What would that continued support look like?’” Marrero said. “We want [districts] to be the protagonist to tell their own stories amongst themselves and say, ‘Hey, this is how we got over this, this is interesting, how do I emulate that.’”
Business owners in some of the newly projected areas, like Dalia Valencia, say economic help is much needed. Valencia told GBH News that she opened a second location for her Kushala Sip Lounge & Café Bar in Chelsea’s downtown in 2022.
At first, she said, customers were interested in the new café and gathering space. But in recent months, she said, business has stagnated.
“If TDI comes to help us find ways to bring more traffic, find ways to create more diversity of business, better education for the businesses and better opportunities in terms of having access to different resources … that, I think, obviously excites me,” she said.
Ben Cares, director of housing and community development in Chelsea, says the city, with a poverty rate more than double the state average, needs more help to thrive.
“Chelsea’s not lacking energy,” he said. “What it really needs is a sustained and coordinated investment.”
A transformed neighborhood
The state started its TDI focus on Shirley Avenue in 2022. Since then, the area has seen a mix of business support including the building of a $122,000 pilot program designed to help existing businesses make room for local entrepreneurs and community groups. The city also invested an additional $275,000 to neighborhood improvements like public art and greenspaces.
Keefe Jr., Revere’s mayor, says changes have transformed the area, creating a neighborhood that is welcoming to all.
“It was very well-known for a shady bar scene, a late-night scene that came with all of the unsuitables that don’t make it a great place to want to set up shop,” Keefe Jr. said. “Now, it’s very walkable, it’s pedestrian-friendly ... it’s everything that you want it to be.”
Demographically, Revere is a melting pot, with residents from Colombia, Cambodia and Morocco.
Agudelo said that while she personally never felt unsafe on Shirley Avenue, she’s seen a positive shift over the last five years. She pointed to new restaurants and cafes, all near the beach.
“That organization helped us a lot because they pushed the business to grow up,” she said. “We have everything here now.”
The GBH News Equity and Justice Unit is leading a newsroom initiative in 2026 that amplifies and explores the underrepresented voices across the state’s 26 Gateway Cities: 26 in 26. This story is a part of that series.
We plan to hear from people living in these communities through listening sessions and on-the-ground reporting while using data and research to highlight gaps in coverage and increase positive storytelling in areas often overlooked by the media.
Find the initiative and the unit’s work here.
