Buying Eastern Nazarene — Without a Plan
Quincy is racing to close a $21 million campus purchase by June 15. Critics say the city doesn't know what it's buying, can't afford what it's borrowing, and has done this before.
When Eastern Nazarene College closed its Wollaston campus in May 2025, Mayor Tom Koch moved quickly to buy the 27-acre property for $21 million — a steep discount from its $58 million assessed value. The purchase has some logic: protect a neighborhood, prevent unwanted development under the Dover Amendment, and preserve open space. But critics — including the council president and a growing chorus of residents — raise three fundamental concerns: the city has no finalized plan for most of the 14 buildings on the property; the financing relies on future asset sales and grants that aren't yet secured; and the deal follows a string of large, underdisclosed commitments under Mayor Koch that have helped push Quincy's debt to $1.8 billion. The City Council faces a hard deadline of June 15, 2026 — a two-thirds vote required.
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