When Trader Joe's could open in Quincy

Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger
Updated ·3 min read
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QUINCY − A new Quincy Center grocery store, rumored to be a Trader Joe's, could open by the spring of 2025, the developer said.

D.J. MacKinnon, president of Atlantic Development, told city councilors during a Dec. 14 subcommittee meeting that he hopes to begin construction before the summer of 2024 and expects ground-level retail space, including a "specialty grocer," to open 12 to 18 months later.

Six stories with about 300 apartments would open in phases after that, MacKinnon said. The process would mirror a large-scale Atlantic Development project in North Quincy known as The Abby.

A rendering shows a proposed multiuse development at the site of the IHOP in Quincy Center. A specialty grocer rumored to be Trader Joe's could occupy retail space on the first floor.
A rendering shows a proposed multiuse development at the site of the IHOP in Quincy Center. A specialty grocer rumored to be Trader Joe's could occupy retail space on the first floor.

Target opened at The Abby in October 2021, and three connected residential buildings with about 600 units opened gradually thereafter, with the last section of apartments now leasing as of this month.

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During the Dec. 14 meeting, Quincy Planning Director Jim Fatseas said the city will sell a group of parcels to Atlantic Development for $7.3 million under a land disposition agreement that the city council approved Monday night.

The land includes part of 119 Parkingway, a property that now holds an IHOP restaurant, which the city took by eminent domain in November. Quincy paid the owners, Alex Matov and Andrian Shapiro of LBC Boston, $9.45 million.

The IHOP restaurant in Quincy Center.
The IHOP restaurant in Quincy Center.

The land also will include part of an adjacent parcel, 100-110 Parkingway, which the city bought from Matov and Shapiro in 2019 for $9.25 million.

As part of the land disposition agreement, Atlantic would also build an eight-story public parking garage with about 800 spaces alongside and attached to the commercial and residential building. MacKinnon said about 300 of those spaces would be reserved for tenants.

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MacKinnon compared the agreement with one for One Chestnut, a 15-story residential tower developed by Peter O'Connell, which opened in 2021. O'Connell also built the 712-space Kilroy Square Garage, which is owned by the city.

At the meeting, Chris Walker, chief of staff to Mayor Thomas Koch, said the city leases about 250 spaces in the Kilroy Square Garage to One Chestnut and Nova Quincy, the 171-unit apartment building at Kilroy Square developed by LBC Boston.

MacKinnon said the new Atlantic Development project would "pay significant real estate taxes and provide that revenue to the city."

Unlike O'Connell, who received a tax deal as part of his agreement with the city, MacKinnon would pay full taxes on the property, he said.

One Chestnut Place in Quincy Center is the city's tallest building. It was built on part of the former Hancock parking lot.
One Chestnut Place in Quincy Center is the city's tallest building. It was built on part of the former Hancock parking lot.

Asked by Ward 3 City Councilor Ian Cain about the expected cost of the public parking garage, Walker said it would be "a substantial public investment."

By way of comparison, Walker said the Kilroy Square Garage, which is smaller than the proposed project at 119 Parkingway and was built when construction costs were lower, cost $46 million.

Earlier this year, Quincy applied for a $75 million MassWorks state grant for a 1,000-car parking garage in the same location. The application said Quincy would kick in $5 million of its own, bringing the total price tag for the garage to about $80 million.

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MassWorks does not typically hand out grants of this magnitude. In 2022, its largest grant was $6.5 million.

At the Dec. 14 city council subcommittee meeting, Walker said a fifth bond authorization through the District Improvement Financing program would go toward the garage.

District Improvement Financing allows the city to borrow money for downtown infrastructure projects and then pay those debts through revenues drawn from new economic growth attracted to the downtown by the improved infrastructure.

The city authorized a fourth District Improvement Financing bond in June 2022 worth $53 million, part of which was used to acquire the IHOP through eminent domain.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: When will a Trader Joe's open in Quincy?