Tim Cahill, president and executive director of the Quincy Chamber of Commerce, sat down with Invest: to discuss Quincy’s growth and the city’s defining factors, how the chamber is working to help the community at large overcome economic challenges, exciting projects in the pipeline and more.
What have been some of the most impactful economic developments in the Quincy region’s business community in the past 12 months?
The housing crisis has impacted the Quincy community as well as the Greater Boston community. We are trying to build enough supply to meet the demand, especially in Eastern Massachusetts where there are many colleges. Even more students come to the Boston area and hope to stay without having any affordable places to live. Quincy is bringing in 700 new market-rate housing units in the next few months. These are projects that were sited and built over the past four to five years to be seated by the MBTA station. Quincy has four rapid transit systems, including a rail line. There are plenty of ways to get into Boston. We are building more and more housing along the subway line’s tracks. A 600-unit apartment building is being completed in North Quincy and another 600-unit building is coming online in Quincy Center. There are permits for another 1,000 to 2,000 units. Quincy, unlike many other communities south of Boston, is making housing affordability and accessibility a priority and bridging the gap in a successful way. It grows revenue for the city while providing housing for folks who want to stay in the area and giving us an opportunity to grow our workforce.
What sectors do you see the most growth in, and how are you supporting it?
One of the areas we are supporting that we have not yet seen growth in is a maritime tax-incentive area for our shipyard that was abandoned 25 years ago. Half of it is now being used for maritime purposes, but the other half is being used for car storage. We are working with the mayor’s office to resurrect maritime use of the property. One of the companies in the area manufactures unmanned submarines, and they want to expand. We want to incentivize them to expand here instead of somewhere else. We have the water access allowing for submarine testing, and this company has a Pentagon contract requiring them to build 60 to 70 over the next few years while growing their workforce from its current 60 up to 250. It is over 100 acres. It is a real differentiator and an opportunity to create high-end manufacturing jobs.
What labor constraints is the chamber helping address?
We have been working closely with healthcare providers. Our community hospital closed down about a decade ago and is one of our beautiful new apartment complexes. We are working to build back our healthcare institution, not as a full hospital but a medical building that will service people for 90% of what people need. The other 10%, such as cancer or surgeries, will still require going to Boston, which is only eight miles away. For everyday treatment in a city of 110,000, though, residents need their own medical building. The chamber made a connection between Deaconess Hospital, the mayor’s office and a developer to build that center. They are working through the permitting process right now and hope to break ground in 2025 for opening in 2027. It is important for us because we are struggling like many other cities to get workers to come back to our office buildings. We are working to create opportunities where people have to come to work. You cannot work remotely in a hospital. We feel very strongly that this is a growing business and it is not cyclical like life sciences.
How is the chamber navigating economic pressures?
Inflation is the No. 1 issue we are facing today. Job growth is No. 2. Finding the right people and being able to attract them to a high-cost area like Massachusetts is a challenge, and the cost of doing business is simply higher. The main challenge for the restaurant industry two years ago was finding help, and the main challenge today is making sure they keep their customers despite higher food and employee costs. You cannot go anywhere without experiencing it. That is why inflation drives so much of the political landscape. It is something you notice every time you leave the house. This is a challenge that deeply affects those already struggling, but it reaches everyone. The national news and metrics are showing that inflation is coming down, but those prices that have gone up over the past two years have been baked into costs. There is always an extra charge. I do not blame the businesses because they are just trying to stay ahead of the game. Without a profit, you close. At the same time, it is a real challenge for consumers.
What is the chamber’s role in the community and what makes Quincy attractive to newcomers?
As the chamber, we work to make sure we are there for all types of businesses and our own organization and board of directors is diverse. People can see that the people sitting around the table making decisions at the chamber look like them and have the same experiences. This is a small but important way to show that we care and are there for everybody.
Quincy has a very long and solid track record of welcoming newcomers. They find this city welcoming and the business community open. The school system is great, too. They like it, so they stay.
How is the city of Quincy investing to maintain and address growth?
I am proud to be part of a city that takes the money coming in from new developments and puts it back out onto the street. Nobody has invested more in infrastructure in the last 20 years than Quincy – new schools, rebuilding roads, new public buildings, redoing parks and more. If you are not doing that with the money coming in, people wonder what the point is. As the city grows, you have to provide more services. There are expectations that must be met. Our city works to exceed them. That makes us different. The chamber works closely with the government to ensure the business community’s interests are not neglected or taken for granted. As a former politician, it is common to take the money given to you for granted and see it as a bottomless pit flooding in. The business community knows that is just not the case. Profit is to be reinvested. If we are not reinvesting, how can we grow? The same is true for the city’s current administration, which has been here for 15 years. They understand that better than any group of elected officials I have been in contact with. People expect safe streets, education and equal access.
