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| Planning for Quincy's redevelopment | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | UPDATES | |
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FUTURE VISIONSHousing and Concourse seen leading way for cityThe sketches show new, attractive buildings scattered throughout downtown. Part of the parking garage on Ross Way is replaced with housing, and residential buildings rise from what had been the Hancock parking lot. Two other apartment buildings transform the skyline on Hancock Street. The drawings are one person’s initial vision of what Quincy Center could look like if redevelopment plans are pursued. Whether the concept - or anything resembling it - ever becomes reality will depend on many factors, including the economy and opinions of city leaders and residents. Still, the drawings are telling. The man who drafted them is David Dixon, an urban planner with the Boston firm Goody, Clancy & Associates. Mayor William Phelan is paying Dixon $75,000 to help plot the redevelopment and revitalization of Quincy Center. Like others, Dixon sees housing as a key to downtown’s success. “Downtown Quincy is not going to compete with shopping centers, but it can compete very effectively as a place to enjoy yourself, do specialty shopping, to enjoy music, to eat at a cafe and restaurant,” he said. “Housing does a much better job in supporting active street life, supporting retail entertainment and food. Adding to the residential base in downtown is a highly effective way to create enough support for these enlivening uses.”
Not surprisingly, Dixon views the Hancock parking lot as a possible starting place. The city owns the 5-acre lot across from Quincy District Court, eliminating at least some obstacles. It is situated in an area that bolsters the southern end of downtown but is not so far from Quincy Square that it expands the parameters of downtown, he said. But after identifying the Hancock Lot as a site worth developing, Dixon began to focus on another area: Property surrounding the planned path of the Quincy Center Concourse, the roadway that would eventually link Burgin Parkway with Southern Artery. For now, the road only goes as far as Parkingway, but the city is trying to secure state money to cross Hancock Street and connect with Revere Road and onward to Southern Artery. “What has become intriguing to us is as the Concourse is developed over time it can be a lot more than an arterial roadway,” Dixon said. “It could also be a stimulus for neighborhood building. It can be just as much an urban design and development project as a transportation project. The city can use it to unlock the potential for a series of sites.” For example, Dixon said both private and public property surrounding Parkingway could be worth redeveloping, including part of the area now occupied by the Ross garage. He stressed, however, that the garage is only an idea, since the parking would have to be relocated. Ultimately, other sites along the Concourse could prove more viable, he said. As officials and residents begin to have serious discussions about the future of downtown and its potential, Dixon offers this advice: “I think by and large people should know that they can afford to have a lot of aspirations for Quincy. The biggest impediment often is a lack of belief within a community that it can grow and change in positive ways. Quincy is very well positioned to attract a lot of investment and shape investment in positive ways.” |
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