NeighborWorks breaks ground on 18-unit development for the homeless in Quincy Point

QUINCY – State Speaker of the House Ron Mariano said he remembers fondly his days as a kid growing up around Quincy Point, across from the once-booming Quincy shipyard.

Affectionally called "The Point," the neighborhood sits between Town River and Quincy Center and is home to Mound Street Beach, the original Stop & Shop and the USS Salem. 

In a little less than a year, 18 people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless will also be able call The Point home thanks to an affordable housing project ushered in by nonprofit NeighborWorks Housing Solutions. 

"It's great to get (affordable housing) in your own backyard," Mariano said. "This is a special place for me. ... It's great to see this."

The project will bring 18 studio apartments to the former site of four Winter Street homes, and local nonprofit Father Bill's & MainSpring will provide services to its residents.

The new project will replace four buildings that housed seven people. NeighborWorks CEO Rob Corley said the previous buildings were "tired-looking" and that the new project will help more people than the previous ones could have. 

The construction of the new building will cost $4 million and will be paid for by state and city affordable housing money. State and federal subsidies will pay the rent of the people who live there. 

The project took two decades to come to fruition. State Sen. John Keenan, a Quincy Democrat, said he wants the state to have a more streamlined way to appropriate money to affordable housing projects. 

Mayor Tom Koch said a booming economy has made it difficult for people to find affordable housing in Quincy,

"We are a city on the move," Koch said. "But, we can't forget the people that get left behind."

The site of the new building at 54-64 Winter St. was once home to Ma's Lunch, a family business that catered to the blue-collar workers of a buzzing shipyard, once the backbone of Quincy Point. 

Mariano said it was fitting that the site should become affordable housing, and said the project will honor Zaida Shaw, the magnanimous late owner of Ma's Lunch who grew up on Winter Street with her 10 siblings, in the shadow of the shipyard's goliath crane. 

Mariano also touted the House's recent proposed plan to spend $600 million of federal relief money on housing initiatives. 

The contractor for the project is Stoughton-based Curtis Construction Co. The architect is Placetailor, a Boston-based firm that focuses on sustainable design. 

NeighborWorks has an office on Washington Street in Quincy and has overseen several large affordable housing developments in the city, including two in Quincy Point. The largest project, called The Watson on East Howard Street, opened in 2019 and has 140 residential units rented to people of various incomes. 

Original Source: https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2021/11/30/quincy-point-see-18-new-affordable-units-next-year/8805395002/