LISA BUL/The Patriot Ledger

Quincy resident John Taglieri, left, looks at a map of Quincy Center as he talks with the city’s traffic consultant, Anthony T. Lionetta, at a forum on redeveloping Quincy Center last night at the Thomas Crane Public Library.

Quincy Center forum
elicits enthusiasm
for sweeping changes

By CHRISTOPHER WALKER
The Patriot Ledger

QUINCY - published 1-16-04

Let the Town Brook flow at the surface through Quincy Center. Build more office buildings. Develop more places to live. Open upscale specialty shops. Build a tunnel underneath Hancock Street.

David Dixon Development consultant impressed by level of support for redevelopment

The ideas floated for the future of downtown Quincy were abundant and varied last night. Still, the first public forum on the city’s latest effort to redevelop Quincy Center appeared to produce a common theme: there is plenty of potential for good things to happen.

“I think I learned tonight just how much support there is here for an ambitious revitalization of Quincy Center,” the city’s chief development consultant, David Dixon, said after the lively forum at the Thomas Crane Public Library. “There are many communities where you only hear the negative, and not the positive. Quincy isn’t one of those places.”

Nearly 100 people braved the record cold to crowd into the atrium at the library to hear a panel of development experts outline the basics of why infusing new life into Quincy is important. The forum, co-sponsored by The Patriot Ledger and the city, featured viewpoints from an array of interests within Quincy, including neighborhood residents, business owners, social activists, union leaders and city officials.

“I don’t want a concrete jungle,” said Sally Owen, a resident who highlighted the need for green space, meeting areas and other environmentally friendly opportunities.

Resident Barbara Isola noted the need to pump new life into retail shopping in Quincy Center.

“I grew up in New York City, and it was the kind of place where you had your neighborhood and that’s where you did all your shopping. I want to be able have that experience in Quincy,” she said.

Mayor William Phelan has made downtown redevelopment a top priority in his second term, and he’s confident that conditions are now perfect to reinvigorate a city center that hasn’t thrived since its decline as a retail attraction decades ago.

He has assembled a committee of well-known developers and urban planners-- to come up with a realistic redevelopment plan in coming months.

The preliminary concepts that have emerged so far include building more housing, developing the city-owned Hancock parking lot, completing the long-planned Quincy Center Concourse and making the area more friendly to pedestrians.

Last night’s forum was the first of two on the early redevelopment efforts. The second, featuring a panel that includes Douglas Foy, the chief of commonwealth development under Gov. Mitt Romney, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the library. Quincy Access Television Channel 8 is providing live coverage and rebroadcasts of both events.

On the panel last night were Phelan, Dixon, Ward 5 City Councilor Douglas Gutro, real estate analyst Pamela McKinney, land acquisition lawyer Jeffrey Mullan, urban design and traffic consultant Tony Lionetta and city traffic engineer Roy LaMotte Jr. The forum was moderated by Patriot Ledger Editor Chazy Dowaliby.

“This was a remarkable turnout. It shows people really are excited about this opportunity we have,” Phelan said after the forum.

The city and its consultants are planning a more intense session on planning and design ideas for downtown. The session, called a “charrette,” allows groups of people to work within a a few broad guidelines and then literally draw what they would like to see downtown. No date for the session has been scheduled, but Phelan indicated it’s likely to be held next month.

The tone last night was largely positive, and there were no comments in outright opposition to what’s been discussed so far.

The most serious discussion revolved around the future of the much-discussed Quincy Center Concourse.

Decades in the making, the concourse currently connects Burgin Parkway to the Parkingway, but is eventually expected to link with McGrath Highway and ultimately Route 3A. Just how that would be done, and where it would cross Hancock Street, loom as one of the major challenges facing redevelopment efforts.

A number of Hancock Street business owners expressed concern last night about the possibility of land-takings to complete the concourse.

“We’ve heard nothing, and it’s like we’re sort of in the dark because some of us don’t live in Quincy,” said John Pacella, the owner of the Eugene Thomas Salon on Revere Road.

Officials, however, cautioned business owners and landlords that it’s still too early in the planning phase to start serious discussions about possible land-takings.

Christopher Walker may be reached at .