Editor’s note: Following are excerpts from a recent Bisnow newsletter
Quincy, MA – Construction will start soon on what’s been billed as the largest urban transformation project in the country—the $1.6 billion rebuilding of downtown Quincy. Similar redevelopment efforts are underway in Boston and nationwide. Each is unique, but here are elements they share.
Early on, Quincy Mutual Insurance—a company headquartered downtown for 162 years—made a $17 million pre-development investment to help launch the project. Developer Beal/Street-Works partner Ken Narva says big city makeovers need a stakeholder with the courage to get in early and the patience to hang on for the long haul.
Mayor Tom Koch was a pioneering advocate, with moral and financial support. The city and state have agreed to raise $340 million, including $289 million in bonds for infrastructure: new streets, utilities, and nine garages for 5,000 cars. The city will raise 18% of the TDC, the state 3%, and the private developer 79%. The new private property will generate revenue to repay the bonds. Early in the eight-year planning phase, Narva tells us, the mayor had the courage and vision to see beyond the next election cycle.
To Mayor Koch, the transformation means new jobs and revenue to fuel further growth. The developer is starting the first building with cash. But without public underwriting, he says, it couldn’t create the appropriate environment.
Quincy—birthplace of two US presidents, John Adams and John Quincy Adams—has a rich past, a solid present, and a strong credit rating. Beal/Street-Works recognized residents’ concerns over a plan to build 3,500,000sf so it acquired 39 land parcels without using eminent domain. Everyone knew what was happening from day one, says partner Richard Heapes. The plan it created calls for 1,600 housing units, 1,100,000sf of office, and 700,000sf of retail, including 150,000sf of food.
The spine of the New Quincy Center is Hancock Street, which leads to the T stop. Easy access to mass transit is the critical lifeline, says Narva. It places what will be new and redeveloped buildings 18 minutes from Boston and 23 minutes from Cambridge, both major employment centers. It’s surrounded by Interstates 93/95, which lead to downtown Boston and many other towns.
At its core, Hancock Street will be reconceived as one great boulevard from the commercial center to the T. It will feature a series of spaces filled with active uses like restaurants and shops, key public places like four-acre park and museum Adams Green, and five other outdoor public places connected by wide sidewalks.