How the new Quincy public safety building construction is going and when it'll be done

QUINCY − The city's new public safety headquarters is on pace to open by October 2025, about eight years after the design phase began in 2017.

Joe Shea, managing partner of Granite City Partners, the firm overseeing the project, and members of the development team updated city councilors and answered questions at the Feb. 5 council meeting.

In addition to a four-story, 120,000-square-foot building to replace the existing police station, the $175 million project includes upgrades to utilities, infrastructure, landscaping and nearby traffic.

The new headquarters will house the police department as well as administrative offices for the fire department and emergency management.

The project will also include a two-deck parking garage, green space and a municipal fueling station. The property consists of 10 acres in the area of Sea Street, Southern Artery, Broad Street and Field Street, Shea said.

What's already done at the new Quincy public safety headquarters

Drivers passing Wollaston Cemetery and the police station will see the building's steel frame rising around stairway and elevator towers. Harder to notice are the already-completed utility improvements.

Construction workers have laid down water, stormwater and sewer lines and built a stormwater pumping station, according to the presentation. In addition, underground duct banks for power and telecommunication cables have been installed, which will allow the removal of overhead lines in the Broad Street area.

A new municipal fueling station is open on Broad Street, at the site of the former Stop & Shop gas station. The old station was decommissioned, with soil contaminated by leakage removed, Shea said.

On Broad Street, which has new curbing and sidewalks, the former Father Bill's homeless shelter and the Quincy Animal Shelter have been demolished. A new, larger housing resource center run by Father Bill's was completed across the street in late 2023.

The Quincy Animal Shelter now occupies a temporary facility on East Squantum Street while a new shelter is under construction on Quarry Street in West Quincy.

Timeline for the rest of the Quincy public safety headquarters construction

The project manager said structural steel work will wrap up in late April. He said the roof would be done by September, with power supplied to the building a few months later. That will allow tradespeople to start work inside the building, said project manager Stephen Chrusciel, of the Chrusciel Group.

In late April, workers will lay the foundation for the two-deck parking garage behind the station, Chrusciel said. Shea said the parking deck will have 332 spaces with 30 electric vehicle charging stations on the second level. The garage will have the potential to add up to 200 more charging stations, Shea said.

Field Street, which connects to Broad Street behind the station, will be extended, allowing vehicles leaving the complex to exit onto Southern Artery either at McGrath Highway or at Brackett Street, where the original Dunkin' Donuts stands.

Shea said that would ease traffic congestion and possibly shave critical seconds off response times by providing outlets in multiple directions. At present, police vehicles exit onto Sea Street or into a busy intersection on Southern Artery.

Chrusciel said he expects the building to be fully weatherproofed by the end of March 2025, and police, fire and emergency management personnel to move in by October 2025.

In the following months, workers will abate and demolish the existing police station. After that, work on retaining walls and landscaping will continue until March 2026, when the project will be finished, Chrusciel said.

How much the new Quincy public safety headquarters will cost

The city council approved $500,000 in 2017 to design a new public safety headquarters to replace the crumbling police station, parts of which are nearly 100 years old. Officers had complained of water damage, crumbling ceiling tiles, sagging floors and leaking roofs.

"When it comes down, we expect it will be to great celebration by all who had to endure that building," Joe Shea told councilors during the Feb. 5 meeting. Shea's firm, Granite City Partners, is overseeing the project

In November 2019, city officials presented scaled-back plans that eliminated a central fire station included in an earlier draft. At that time, the city council approved $32 million to acquire five pieces of land behind the police station and pay for architect's fees, environmental studies and permitting.

In April 2021, the city council approved $120 million for construction of the building, with $90 million reserved for the building itself, $10 million for furniture and equipment, $10 million for nearby infrastructure and utility improvements and $10 million for contingencies. At that time, Shea expected the new building to be completed by the fall of 2023.

During that council meeting, Councilors Nina Liang and Ann Mahoney criticized certain line items in the project's budget, including $1,000 microwaves and a costly slate and copper roof. A motion to cut $1.2 million from the budget failed, and the full $120 million was then unanimously approved.

In 2022, increases in the cost of labor and construction materials had project managers revisiting their plans. In October of that year, the Koch administration requested an additional $23 million to cover the cost hikes. The council approved the $23 million in November 2022.

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Quincy is not the only midsize Massachusetts city to overrun its initial budget for a new public safety headquarters. Earlier this month, Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan told city councilors that the city would need $34.5 million for a project whose cost was originally estimated at $98 million.

The four-story, 149,275-square-foot building at the site of the old Brockton High School hit a snag when asbestos, lead and ledge was found during site work. A general rise in construction costs also contributed to the overrun.

New Quincy public safety headquarters will have gym, green space

Ward 1 Quincy City Councilor Dave McCarthy, whose district includes the construction site, praised the work as a "great project" in a "busy Ward 1 corner."

He asked Shea if contractors were keeping within budget. Shea said they are, and that now that the work is "out of the ground," there is less chance that unforeseen circumstances can cause delays or increase costs.

Newl Ward 5 Councilor Dan Minton, a retired Quincy police officer, said he spent 36 years in the existing police station. He asked if the new building would include facilities geared toward stress reduction, such as a high-quality workout room. Minton said higher-than-average rates of divorce, alcoholism and suicide among police personnel make such accommodations critical.

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Chrusciel said that in addition to a fitness room, ancillary spaces will provide a peaceful environment for officers after stressful situations. He said the gym night not match the quality of a "Big 10 college," but it will meet the standards of a "premium high school."

Councilor-at-Large Noel DiBona asked about green and open space planned for the site. Shea said that about an acre of green space will front the building on the Sea Street side and wrap around the corner to face Southern Artery as well.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Quincy public safety building expected to open in October 2025