City councilors approved spending $120 million more in taxpayer-funded dollars towards the construction of a new police station and demolition of the old station on Sea Street.
As usual, while there was some pushback for a change, the otherwise all but invariably supine Quincy City Council rolled over to approve $120 million more to enable Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch’s latest “Edifice Complex.”
While the Quincy Police Department headquarters is a dump and the hardworking officers on the force thus deserve better, it still must be noted that the $120 million is on top of $30 million approved almost a year ago to buy land needed as well as to fund planning efforts to build what will surely be easily the most expensive, if not also the most extravagant, public safety headquarters in the Commonwealth on a per square foot basis.
Among other extravagances include a planned copper and slate roof. Per the data provided by the Koch Maladministration’s construction and design team, the copper and slate roofing will run roughly $3 million, roughly twice to three times as much as perfectly serviceable less expensive materials.
Not acknowledged by the construction and design team, however, was that the five circular bay windows on the top floor of the building will run even more money to build than a standard perpendicular design, along with all manner of other extravagances.
Also tap-danced around by the Koch dance team was how roughly half of the copper roofing will be on the back of the building where next to no one will notice it.
Then again, what is spending millions of taxpayers’ money to make an architectural statement even if the statement ultimately boils down to the appallingly banal and bombastic taste of Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch and his brother-in-law Quincy Police Chief Paul “The Beav” Kennan.
Further troubling, Quincy Quarry’s construction desk suspects that between massive increases in constructions supplies given all manner of COVID-19 supply chain disruptions as well as that many contractors and workers already pretty much booked solid, the proposed/promised $150 million all-inclusive project cost will probably not prove sufficient absent massive value engineering to exorcise a substantial number of the current plan’s extravagances before also factoring in only proper to expect yet again costs care of the woeful project management by the Koch Maladministration.
As such, do not be surprised if the final cost is closer to $180 million, if not approaching upwards of 200 large.
And for a fuller recap of all of the bad taste and grifting, check out what Quincy’s renowned as well as doggedly persistent gadfly posted in the way of trenchant comments to the South Shore broadsheet’s coverage of the City Council yet again saying no to Quincy’s free-spending of tax dollars mayor.
Needless to say, the Quarry is still endeavoring to add the gadfly to the Quincy Quarry News team.
Source: Final $120 million approved for Quincy public safety building
” . . . an architectural statement . . . ”
Ugly, garish — what a statement.
Are they trying, somehow to mirror the curved windows of Coddington Hall?
Is it some sort of municipal Q branding bullshit, they’re trying to pass-off
Remember the Edsel? Same bad design aesthetics.
What happened to the new MBTA Bus Depo planned for the former Lowe’s site? ? Also, the City of Quincy has quit taking care of Paul Grasso Memorial next to the site and the T won’t send anyone over to maintain it. The T and the city keep trying to push taking care of this memorial park onto each other.
Mibi,
Please be advised that the MBTA decided to put a hold on its building a new bus yard on the former Lowe’s site as the construction bids came in way over expectations and thus the T mothballed the site until it might come up with an affordable Plan B.
And as for the adjacent Paul Grasso Memorial Park, it would appear that Paul is continuing to take friendly fire. The park is city property and thus it should be taking care of the park unless a mitigation deal has been reached with the T given its stalled bus bus yard propject.
Regardless, don’t count on the Ward 4 councillor see that the right thing happens as he has been pretty much MIA of late since he scored a lame duck nomination for a District Court judgeship.