MANY MINDEDQuincy's housing gap and college closures
Quincy, Massachusetts faces a housing shortfall of 4,400 units according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Enterprise Institute. Eastern Nazarene College ceased operations in 2025 with $18 million liabilities, while Cazenovia College converted its campus into housing and a community 'town square' after a feasibility study. A developer proposed constructing 600 housing units on Eastern Nazarene’s 27-acre campus, but Quincy’s mayor rejected the plan as excessive and proposed a $23 million city purchase. The city council later rejected that purchase plan in June 2026.
This case highlights how college closures in areas with acute housing shortages—like Quincy’s 100,000-person community—can create potential housing solutions. Yet local resistance to large-scale conversions, including zoning constraints and community priorities, remains a barrier. The U.S. requires 3.7 million housing units to meet current demand, and Massachusetts mandates 222,000 by 2035, showing systemic gaps where college closures might offer localized relief.
For housing scarcity, this signals a pathway to faster unit production in high-demand areas. But it also underscores friction: converting campus land requires navigating local infrastructure, financial thresholds, and community buy-in. What matters next is whether other colleges at risk of closure—442 private nonprofits estimated by Huron Consulting Group—will follow similar feasibility studies to address housing needs without triggering local opposition.
This single case study does not represent a universal solution. Housing needs and conversion feasibility vary by local zoning, infrastructure, and community priorities. The 442-college estimate applies specifically to private nonprofit institutions in the U.S. system.
Source: Hechinger Report