THE DEMOLITION work is complete. But there isn’t a soul to
be found in the fenced-in block in the center of Quincy where steelworkers,
steamfitters, laborers, and other tradesmen should be well along in the
construction of the first phase of the $1.6 billion revitalization project in
this South Shore city of 91,000.
The 2010 agreement between the New York-based developer
Street-Works LLC and the South Shore Building Trades Council requires the
exclusive use of union construction workers on the first five buildings in the
project, including a 15-story apartment building originally slated for this
site. But last month, the developer declared a temporary halt to the project,
citing runaway labor costs. Union leaders scoff at such claims. They say the
developer has failed to communicate concerns with them. But the real losers in
this game of back-and-forth are Quincy residents whose downtown has become
blighted and obsolete.
Many medium-sized cities in Massachusetts have big — and
unrealistic — development dreams. But Quincy makes a stronger case based on its
seaside location, easy subway access to Boston, stable political leadership,
and middle-class tax base. It isn’t a stretch to imagine the creation of 1,000
residential units, several office buildings, two hotels, and scores of new
retail shops spread across the downtown area. Street-Works saw the potential
and stepped up with a clever financing structure. The developer would secure
private financing for new utilities, roadways, sidewalks, and public spaces.
Quincy would buy back the infrastructure after revenue started to flow from new
property taxes and public garages.
Sadly, momentum on this project has been lost, even though
the market demand for apartments in the area is sky high. Last month,
Street-Works told the Quincy City Council that the anticipated $130 million
cost to build the first phase of the project had jumped to $170 million in just
three years, based largely on labor costs. The developer is trying to
reconfigure the project with smaller buildings. But there is no guarantee that
the redesign will be affordable, either.
One obvious solution would be to renegotiate the deal. Reducing
hourly wages for union workers, opening up job sites to non-union construction
workers, or some combination of the two would help to get the project back on
track. And the world wouldn’t end if union electricians worked side by side
with non-union plumbers.
The unions, however, want no part of it.
“Why is it that the working guys take it on the chin?’’
demanded Robert Rizzi, president of the South Shore Building Trades Council, an
umbrella group for 16 unions.
It’s a fair question. But the answer in this case is that
union workers aren’t exactly lining up for jobs in Quincy Center. The
super-heated Greater Boston construction market means there is plenty of work
right now in downtown Boston and other places that yield equal or better wages.
Quincy, it appears, has become something of an afterthought.
“It’s my understanding they did not get a lot of bids,’’
said Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch.
And those bids that did come in, according to the
developers, were too high to be taken seriously.
This is a moment of truth for the building trade unions.
Many of their members were suffering from painful unemployment a few years ago
when this deal was inked. It is understandable why they were so keen back then
to lock down jobs in the Quincy redevelopment plan. But those same workers
aren’t available now, and the provision in question keeps others from being
hired. At least 40 percent of the construction workers in the state are
non-union. There are plenty of qualified construction workers — including
Quincy residents — who would jump at the work at a lower but still reasonable
wage.
Street-Works managing partner Ken Narva said that investors
will balk at a project requiring developers to pay Boston-level construction
wages for a Quincy development capable of generating only about two-thirds of
the rental income.
Still, Quincy’s mayor remains optimistic that the trade
unions will recognize that the improving economic climate means there is enough
construction work to go around.
“I think we are going to get there,’’ said Koch. “But
everybody in this deal may have to give a bit.’’
If the union building trades still can’t bear to let go,
they should at least consider investing their pension funds in the project and
accepting a lower rate of return than traditional investors.
Downtown Quincy can be made anew. But not under the current
labor agreement, which spells further delay and decay.
Source: Boston
Globe
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