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— Quincy Massachusetts News by Quincy Quarry News – News, Opinion and Commentary
Here we go again?
An iconic Quincy Quarry News exclusive file photo image
Is the announcement of fourth try to redevelop a long empty long vacant lot in Quincy Center for real or but an election year October Surprise?
On Tuesday past, Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch hosted a presser of a pending development within the long-foundering and currently running millions in the red annually shortfall of Mayor Koch’s plans to redevelopment Quincy Center and thus slipping the banana to local taxpayers to subsidize the shortfall.
Word of the proposed development was rolled out via the all but invariably Koch Maladministration-friendly local weekly tabloid.
The proposal?
Foxrock Properties, a development company owned by the head of Quincy-based Granite Communication, has struck an agreement with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center healthcare system to build a comprehensive, multi-specialty ambulatory center in Quincy Center.
Per Quincy Quarry’s count, this is at least the fourth proposal by FoxRock to develop something on its property that includes a part of where the now-former Ross parking garage once stood.
It is also only fair to note that the usually announced particulars such as building size and such were most curiously not provided via the presser.
Further eyebrow raising in the Quincy Quarry News newsroom over the timing of the announcement but a few weeks before local elections..
Leading the way to Chapter 9 with French Cuffs uncuffed?
An old Facebook image
Further, not only are local elections less than three weeks away, state approval is needed for Beth Israel to move forward with its proposal with groundbreaking then happening no earlier than in 2025 given the receipt of state approval for the proposed facility and so not able to care for patients until no earlier than sometime in 2027 if the state opts to approve Beth Israel’s plans.
After all, such is only reasonable to question as similar previous plans went for naught.
Amazingly, not presentation material tied to the pending development
A Koch for Koch campaign image
Additionally, normally de rigueur renderings of the proposed project were apparently not provided.
Further not provided were other essential particulars such as a parking plan.
At the same time, Mayor Koch has been proposing to take the nearby site of the I Hop and an urgent care center by eminent domain so as to then build a upwards of a thousand car parking garage on this and other adjacent City of Quincy-owned property. As such, one can thus only reasonably assume that some of this planned to be tax money-funded parking garage is slated for the Foxrock/Beth Israel project.
If such is the case, such poses a problem: Mayor Koch does not have local debt authorization in place to fund the projected $80 million cost to build the garage.
As such, he announced that the City of Quincy has applied for a $75 million state funding grant.
The City of Quincy’s DPW road salt barn while it was under construction
A Quincy Quarry News exclusive file photo
So what, apparently, for the fact that this source of state funding typically doles out only around $100 million a year as well as also typically hands out no more mid-seven but mostly smaller grants so as to be able to spread several dozen or so allocations from this pork barrel statewide.
Needless to say, locals should take this latest development announcement by the Koch Maladministration with at least a touch of salt, if not a huge load of it.
Hey QQ, we got a T disaster. You heard about the green line issue. Track width off by a 1/2 inch. Management knew, so Koch had to being on the board. Also, the Orange line trains from years ago. The T tried to blame the German company. Well, the Feds brought an engineer from there, who brought a guage. He found the tracks were a half inch off. Do you wonder why the O line derails??? Charlie Baker, the great fiscal manager, didn’t spend maintenance money. Koch is attached to his ass like a barnacle. Would like to recommend your A team check it out. Lots of smoke, fire is big.
Johnson,
No argument, the whole of the T is an apocalyptic disaster.
While the reasons are myriad, one must be sure to appreciate how Koch is both in the loop as well as has a Medusa touch that now appears to also be contagious.
Case in point, how he surely played an important role in seeing the T buy the former Lowe’s location in Quincy so as to build a new bus maintenance and shortage yard, only to see bids on the work blow past expectations.
Well past expectations.
Sound familiar?
But not to worry! Those who benefited from the T’s buy of the property as well as have long been generous contributors to the Koch campaign fund scored a sweet deal when they unloaded their long vacant white elephant of a property.
At the same time, however, surely all but coincidences.
Seeing will be believing.
Marie, trust me — the fourth try is the charm.