Developers are targeting a spring 2022 groundbreaking for the proposed Sky Everett apartment high-rise at 114 Spring St., part of a 3,000-unit apartment pipeline that’s proposed or under construction in the city of Everett. Image courtesy of The Architectural Team

Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria was the top vote-getter in the city’s preliminary election for mayor on Tuesday, beating challengers by a wide margin but falling short of a majority.

DeMaria took 45.19 percent of the vote amid challenges from city councilors Fred Capone and Gerly Adrien according to unofficial tallies posted to the city website. Capone won 30.16 percent of the vote and Adrien 23.5 percent.

Adrien, in particular, had campaigned against DeMaria for not prioritizing affordable housing development.

“We need more housing options that residents can actually afford,” Adrien said in a statement provided to Banker & Tradesman in July. “As we continue development in the city, we must prioritize the financial and living needs of our residents. It is our job as elected officials to listen to the people and ensure the developers we approve are going to give back to the community and help us meet our growing housing demands.” 

DeMaria has led the city to embrace new development, first around the Encore Boston Harbor casino and the neighboring Batch Yard, and later in the city’s “commercial triangle” south of Revere Beach Parkway.

That light industrial neighborhood neighborhood has seen more than 3,000 new housing units built or proposed in recent years, including a 21-story tower, and could get an extension of the MBTA’s Silver Line.