What can you rent for $2,800 a month in downtown Quincy? Take a peek at the newest space

Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger

QUINCY − One of a pair of six-story apartment buildings across from the Quincy Center T station is scheduled to open to tenants Jan. 26.

Known as Center and Stone, the two buildings incorporate 1200 Hancock St., where a Citizens Bank once stood, and the restored Masonic Temple at 1170 Hancock St., which was gutted by a four-alarm fire in 2013.

Behind and adjoining the former Masonic Temple, the 66-unit building known as Stone is expected to open later this month. Next door, the 135-unit Center is due to open this summer, property manager Kayla Mobarak said.

At Stone, apartments range in size from 461-square-foot studios to a 760-square foot one-bedrooms. Prices range from $2,190 to $2,855, depending on the size and the location in the building.

The living room of a studio apartment at the new Stone apartment building, part of the Center and Stone development on Hancock Street in Quincy.
The living room of a studio apartment at the new Stone apartment building, part of the Center and Stone development on Hancock Street in Quincy.

Real estate developer FoxRock, which built Ashlar Park on Hospital Hill and plans to bring a new medical center to a large vacant lot downtown, teamed up with national property manager Bozzuto on the project. Bozzuto also manages Ashlar Park, The Abby in North Quincy and Meriel Marina Bay.

The former temple, built in 1926, will host a three-story restaurant expected to open next fall, FoxRock representatives said.

How much for a new apartment in downtown Quincy?

Guided by FoxRock and Bozzuto representatives, The Patriot Ledger toured two different units at opposite ends of the size and price scale at Stone.

A model one-bedroom apartment on the second floor had a sleek modern look, with a dishwasher disguised as a cabinet.

The kitchen of an apartment at Stone, a new apartment building in downtown Quincy.
The kitchen of an apartment at Stone, a new apartment building in downtown Quincy.

With 562 square feet, it's one of the smaller and least expensive units in Stone, starting at $2,350 a month, not including utilities. One of the 165 parking spaces in the split-level garage beneath Center will cost $150 more. Center and Stone is pet friendly, though that too carries an additional fee.

At the other end of the price scale is one of Stone’s premier apartments, a 760-square-foot one-bedroom at a corner of the building's top floor. With the largest floorplan in the Stone building, rent starts at $2,775. Larger units, including two-bedrooms, will be available in the Center building, Mobarak said.

Fitness rooms, a roof deck and other amenities at Quincy's newest downtown residential building

Residents enter Stone's lobby from Russell Park, a side street off Hancock that separates the two buildings. A lounge with a coffeemaker will provide residents with what Mobarak described as a "café feel."

A stairway leads down to a fitness area with a yoga studio on one side and a cardio room with treadmills on the other.

Property manager Kayla Mobarak talks about amenities, including two fitness rooms, at Stone.
Property manager Kayla Mobarak talks about amenities, including two fitness rooms, at Stone.

Both exercise rooms feature large murals hand-painted by artist Sam Malpass. The yoga studio features an enchanted forest with shafts of sunlight filtering through the canopy. On the wall of the cardio room is a mural of a boardwalk that leads through a marsh out to a beach at sunset.

A spacious clubroom on the sixth floor offers community space where residents can reserve a room or spend time getting to know each other.

“The space is an extension of residents’ apartments,” Mobarak said.

The clubroom opens onto a roof deck with a view north toward the Boston skyline, east to Quincy Bay and the Boston Harbor Islands, and south toward the Town River and the Fore River Bridge.

A view of the neighborhood from the roof deck of Stone, a new apartment building in Quincy.
A view of the neighborhood from the roof deck of Stone, a new apartment building in Quincy.

Mobarak said Center will have similar but distinctive amenities on its top floor, including a game room with large-screen televisions and shuffleboards opening onto a roof deck with a putting green. Center will also have a pool in its courtyard and a “pet spa” to wash and groom canine friends.

A design that honors history and blends in with its surroundings

FoxRock decided to preserve the Masonic Temple facade and use brickwork that matches the older buildings in the city center, managing director Mark Carroll said.

The former Masonic Temple will soon host a three-story restaurant in front of a new apartment building built by FoxRock.
The former Masonic Temple will soon host a three-story restaurant in front of a new apartment building built by FoxRock.

"We're really excited about breathing new life into these structures," Carroll said. "We spent months finding the right brick."

Carroll credited FoxRock's owner with making design choices based on more than just the bottom line.

"Rob Hale has allowed us to do meaningful development in Quincy, and it shows," Carroll said.

The Masonic Temple fronting Hancock Street, with its granite Ionic columns, runic symbols and bright gold sunburst, remains unchanged.

“We stayed true to the history,” Carroll said. “We never thought of anything but honoring the grand facade and keeping it.”

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: FoxRock's Center and Stone apartments to open in Quincy in January

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