Quincy Center Redevelopment

Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

The buildings have retained their same character and feel, and the public outdoor areas have been increased by 50 percent
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50% more space for junkies to hang out in.
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

The buildings have retained their same character and feel, and the public outdoor areas have been increased by 50 percent
Click to expand...
50% more space for junkies to hang out in.
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

gooseberry said:
50% more space for junkies to hang out in.
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Because that's what generally happens to interior residential courtyards...

As the first phase of the overall redevelopment this may be a bit underwhelming, but it is being financed by a new development partner who may need a bit of assurance concerning feasibility before springing for the more ambitious projects. More importantly, even if the developments do not maximize their allowances right now, at least Quincy has already upzoned a significant amount of the downtown (unlike boston/cambridge/somerville) to allow for more density as demand rises.
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

shmessy said:
What earlier looked like Quincy taking a shot at being a mini-Boston, is now Quincy taking a shot at being a mini-East Boston.
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Quincy shouldn't try to be a mini-Boston (Worcester and Providence handle that just fine). I'd be perfectly happy to end up with a South Shore version of Cambridge, Brookline or Evanston, IL for that matter.
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

AmericanFolkLegend said:
Quincy shouldn't try to be a mini-Boston (Worcester and Providence handle that just fine). I'd be perfectly happy to end up with a South Shore version of Cambridge, Brookline or Evanston, IL for that matter.
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That'd be nice and all, except those 3 places have something that Quincy doesn't: higher education institutions. (*Brookline is effectively engulfed by BU, BC, Colleges of Fenway, Longwood teaching hospitals, and others... Even if all are technically in Boston)
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

Lot of UMass kids hang out in Quincy Center. Quincy is probably quite inviting for off campus living for those kids, and could be made more so.
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

Let's also not forget that Quincy has Red Line access to downtown and rents affordable to many young professionals looking for something affordable and reasonably safe.
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

Quincy has beaches and sailing. It has many very nice neighborhoods. It has easy access to Rtes 3, 128, 93. Perhaps not the stellar cluster mentioned above, but it has Quincy College and Eastern Nazarene College (which is not exactly a party school).
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

AmericanFolkLegend said:
Quincy shouldn't try to be a mini-Boston (Worcester and Providence handle that just fine). I'd be perfectly happy to end up with a South Shore version of Cambridge, Brookline or Evanston, IL for that matter.
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Quincy has much the same transit access as Evanston does, what with the Red Line and Commuter Rail both stopping in Quincy Center. Besides the students, however, Quincy is also missing another key component which makes these other downtown areas work: rich suburbanites. Brookline and Cambridge have not only large numbers of collegians and young professionals, but also middle-aged upper-middle-class empty-nesters looking for an "urban" lifestyle. Lots of these people are university professors.

Downtown Evanston basically functions as an open-air Natick Collection (or Old Orchard, for a more local reference), and the city government, which despises Northwestern and its students, is looking to make it moreso with every development. This works because Wilmette, Skokie, Glenview, etc. all contain people with lots of disposable income to spend at the high-end clothing stores and boutiques which are increasingly eating up all the Downtown retail space. Brookline and Cambridge can also count on Newton, Weston, Wellesley, Belmont, etc. feeding them business. Quincy has some of this, but Randolph, Milton, and Weymouth just can't match the western and northern suburbs in disposable wealth (not that that's a bad thing, of course...)
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

I used to be in a barbershop quartet in Skokie, Illinois. The baritone was this guy named Kip Diskin, big fat guy, I mean like orca fat. He was so stressed in the morning...
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

KZ, I feel like your mind is a just a quagmire of architectural photos and phenomenal movie references.
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

Quagmire is a VERY good word to ascribe to me.
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

Giggidy
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

"Oh God!!!!!!"
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

JohnAKeith said:
You're confusing it with Chelsea.
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What does that have to do with anything? Am I supposed to feel bad about that? The south end has plenty of junkies too. Are you going to cry yourself asleep about it now because I pointed it out?
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

gooseberry said:
What does that have to do with anything? Am I supposed to feel bad about that? The south end has plenty of junkies too. Are you going to cry yourself asleep about it now because I pointed it out?
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I'm pretty sure John's point was that, as near suburbs go, Quincy Center isn't exactly overflowing with junkies. I thought your comment was weird too. No reason for anyone to cry themselves "asleep" over it...
 
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Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

I think we're all right.
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

fatnoah said:
Let's also not forget that Quincy has Red Line access to downtown and rents affordable to many young professionals looking for something affordable and reasonably safe.
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The exact reason I'm moving there in 3 weeks.
 
Re: $1 billion development proposed to reshape downtown Quincy

This specific article puts a more-positive spin on the situation than the other article I read today (which I can't seem to find).

In my words, this is on the verge of being a catastrophe.

Quincy Center project 'paused,' councilors ask why
By Patrick Ronan, Patriot Ledger


A pair of city councilors have raised questions about the recent pause in the $1.6 billion Quincy Center redevelopment project.

Street-Works Development, the primary developer behind the project, has put construction on hold while it re-designs Merchants Row, the first major phase of development. The private developer said rising construction costs in the Boston area and two building purchases over the summer prompted them to put a halt on construction only four months after they broke ground.

“No one has pulled out. No money has been removed,” Richard Heapes, a partner for Street-Works, said to the city council Monday night. “But we are in a pause while we collectively tackle how we’re going to get this to a place that makes it a reasonable investment.”

Although Heapes and members of Mayor Thomas Koch’s administration asserted that the pause in construction is no cause for concern, City Councilors Doug Gutro and Brian McNamee were more skeptical. Both raised concerns about the developer’s decision to abandon its plan for a 15-story steel-framed apartment building on Chestnut Street, and build a six-story, wood-framed complex instead.

“You had a beautiful 15-story building that would have offered vistas of the Blue Hills, Quincy Bay and Boston, and we stepped away from that,” McNamee said. “I can’t think of anything that’s more saleable than that kind of a structure to set a perfect tone for this development. When you propose smaller structures, wood structures, it’s starting to look like the the Weymouth Air Station housing model.”

Gutro said he was concerned the changes in Merchants Row reduces the amount of construction jobs and overall revenue created by the project.

“I’m a little bit concerned about the financing piece, and I’m just looking for you to shed a little bit of light,” Gutro said to Heapes.

Heapes said Merchants Row – the block including Chestnut Street, Cottage Avenue and the 1400 block of Hancock Street – needs to be re-designed because construction costs in the Boston area have gone up 37 percent in recent years and are expected to go up more by the end of 2014. Also, he said another reason for the re-design is the developer’s two pending property purchases – at 14 Cottage Ave. and 1442 Hancock St. – that will allow them to add more retail space to Merchants Row and double the overall footprint of Step 1 in the four-step downtown plan.

Heapes said up to $70 million in equity has already been invested toward the project by Street-Works, development partner Twining Properties, Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance and LaSalle Investment Management. Heapes assured councilors that the project would deliver the same end result that was promised when the developer and city signed a land disposition agreement in 2010 – a revitalized downtown with more than 3 million square feet of new residential, retail, office, entertainment and educational space.
“We’re not going away until it happens and it happens right,” Heapes said.

City Councilors Joseph Finn and Michael McFarland said delays in construction and re-design plans are to be expected in a project of this magnitude.

“For 35 years before (the start of the Street-Works project) there were plans that existed that sat in shelves and drawers and simply collected dust. I think what we’re going through now is the really the angst that occurs when you’re moving forward with development,” Finn said.
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