Is Quincy the Next Cambridge and Somerville?
Quincy might be the next upcoming spot for young professionals priced out of Cambridge and Somerville.
A local developer is gambling that downtown Quincy may be the next hot destination for young professionals priced out of Cambridge and Somerville.
Gate Residential has rolled out with an upscale, 169-unit apartment development that will take shape in downtown Quincy. The project is a joint venture with Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which acquired the lots on which the new apartments will be built.
West of Chestnut will have amenities and design flourishes aimed at attracting 25 to 35-year-old urbanites hit by rising rents in East Cambridge, Davis Square, and other hipster hot spots.
The developers also plan to capitalize on the appeal of the Quincy Center T station next door to the project, as well as commuter rail and bus options.
“That demographic has been bypassing Quincy,’’ said Kyle Warwick, principal of Boston-based Gate Residential of the younger urbanites. “As they get priced out, this is a great location for them.’’
The apartments will be split between two new buildings, with a new street, Chestnut Way, planned to be rolled out between them.
There will be 15 studios renting for $1,700 each, 114 one-bedrooms at $2,000, and 40 two-bedrooms renting for $2,500 a month. The studios have 520 square feet, rising to 700-750 square feet for the one bedrooms, and roughly 1,000 square feet for the two bedrooms, Warwick said.
The apartments will surround an inner courtyard with a fire pit, great for hanging out in warmer weather.
There will be two major amenity suites as well. One, a “life suite,’’ will include a chef’s kitchen, billiards, and other games.
The suite will come in handy for entertaining, especially if you want to host a dinner party for 20 but are worried about squeezing everyone into your one bedroom, Warwick notes.
There is also a “network café,’’ where residents can set up shop to work, a media room, and a dog washing station.
The “health suite’’ includes a top-of-the-line gym, with an array of cardio and strength equipment, a yoga studio, and space for spinning, he says.
The ground floor of the new apartment development will also include 12,000 square feet of retail; potential tenants include a couple of restaurants, a juice bar, and an expresso café.
“We are really excited about this project,’’ Warwick said. “It will really activate this downtown that really needs this infusion of new life.’’
The proposal comes as Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch pushes to restart grand plans to redevelop the city’s downtown, which fizzled last year after the project’s master planner was unable to come through with financing.
Some key parts of the mayor’s plan, like a new park that will connect the Church of the Presidents, stuck for decades on a traffic island in the middle of a rotary, are moving forward. The United First Parish Church is the final resting place two presidents, John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, and their wives, with the tombs in the church basement.
But efforts to spark construction of new apartments, condos, shops, and restaurants have lagged — until now that is.
West of Chestnut will take shape where a “hole in the ground’’ now exists from the previous downtown redevelopment effort.
The project will redevelop a block while creating a new street in between and hopefully help set the stage for further development, Warwick said. A second phase, East of Chestnut, featuring 220 apartments, is planned for a future date.
Quincy Mutual is playing a key role in the project as well, having contributed $23 million to downtown redevelopment efforts.
“The project team and their vision for this new development confirms our belief that Quincy is poised to be the next great urban development story,’’ Koch, Quincy’s mayor, said in a statement when the project was first unveiled. “We are just minutes from Boston and have all of the built-in amenities right here.’’
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