Quincy hearing opens on expanding HDIP to include Grossman property; public raises affordability and eligibility concerns

Quincy, Massachusetts — The Quincy City Council’s ordinance committee opened a public hearing June 2 on an order to amend the city’s Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) zone to include the property commonly known as the Grossman property between Bergen Parkway and Grant Street. The mayor’s chief of staff, Chris Walker, testified the administration supports the map amendment and said the associated development has been through planning-board review; he confirmed no vote would be taken at the hearing.

The proposed expansion would make the Grossman site eligible for local tax-relief negotiations and state certification under Massachusetts’ Housing Development Incentive Program, a state program that provides project-level tax credits and incentives to certain developments in designated gateway cities. The administration’s presentation said the Grossman project has been reviewed by the planning board and noted an earlier Quincy project, the Watson in Quincy Point, used the program to support a market-plus-affordable development.

Why it matters: HDIP combines local tax agreements with potential state tax credits to incent housing and, in some cases, retail development. Residents told the committee they fear the Grossman project would receive tax benefits without producing the kind of affordable “missing middle” housing the program aims to encourage.

Residents at the hearing pressed elected officials for specifics about affordability and eligibility. “I do not know how the Grossman development can be under the housing development incentive program,” said Kathy Throna, of 234 Everett Street, during public comment. Virginia Ryan, of 89 Albrook Road, said she was “concerned that the mayor is going to grant tax exempt status again for another development company for 20 years” and asked whether the city is adequately representing property taxpayers.

A third public commenter, Jocelyn Setney, questioned whether Quincy still qualifies as a gateway city, a designation used by the state to determine HDIP eligibility. Setney also described the sequence of incentives under HDIP: first a municipality negotiates a local reduction in property taxes (commonly referenced in the hearing as a “tie agreement”), and if the project becomes state-certified it can qualify for state tax credits—she cited a possible state credit of up to $2,000,000 per project. Setney added that Grossman Companies already has site approvals and recently purchased property in the area, and argued that the project appears to be oriented to higher-end residential units rather than the program’s original purpose of catalyzing lower-priced or missing-middle housing.

Chris Walker, the mayor’s chief of staff, told the committee the zone expansion is intended to incentivize housing creation and to support economic development and retail in that part of the city. He said the matter is at an introductory stage and that the hearing would be continued to allow further public comment and committee deliberation.

What’s next: Chair of the ordinance committee continued the hearing to Monday, June 16, at 6:30 p.m. for further public comment and committee consideration. No formal vote or tax agreement was made at the June 2 hearing.

Public-record clarifications: The administration said the Grossman site has been subject to planning-board review for a mixed-use development that includes roughly 256 housing units with retail on the first floor; public commenters described the project variously as “200‑some” or “luxury” apartments. Setney said the developer purchased property for about $40,000,000; that figure was cited in public comment and reported in a local newspaper, not confirmed by a council vote or motion at this hearing.

The committee reiterated at the close of the session that this was the first public hearing on the HDIP amendment and that a second hearing would be held June 16 to accept more public comment and continue deliberations.