As the last family left on Hunt Street yet to agree to sell their home to Quincy as part of a high school campus expansion project, the Tasneys are facing the real possibility that they will not only be the only residents left on the block, but that their home could soon be sitting in the middle of a parking lot.
Larry Tasney never warmed up to the idea of the city taking his home of over four decades so that North Quincy High could get a new playing field and parking lot. The family rejected an offer the city made for their two-family home in January because they thought it was too low.
Now the matter remains at a standstill, with the city seemingly ready to move forward with the $12 million project without the Tasney property.
“I’m sure they think they are” negotiating in good faith, Tasney said of city officials. “I’m on the other end; I’m the one they want the house from and I’m not interested in moving.”
Tasney, who lives in the home with his wife, his daughter, and two grandchildren, added, “Who wants to take up and leave where you’ve lived for 40 years? If I had to move I probably won’t find what I want in Quincy, but I’ve lived in Quincy all my life.”
William Phelan, the family’s attorney, said the city offered the Tasneys $488,750 for their home at 30-32 Hunt St., which the city had independently appraised at $425,000. Phelan declined to discuss how much the Tasneys are seeking, only that they want what they believe is fair for being forcibly uprooted from their home.
“Had this never happened, the Tasneys would have listed it for significantly higher than the city is offering now,” said Phelan, who is a former Quincy mayor. “The city just announced the city would take their home, tell them how much they’d give them for it, or isolate them and begin the project and build around them. It’s no way to treat a lifelong resident and family of Quincy.”
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The family, Phelan said, would be better off if the city took the property by eminent domain, a power given to governments to seize property needed to benefit a public purpose. The process would allow the owners to receive payment from the city for their property, and then take the matter to court to have a jury determine the value of their home.
The offer to the Tasneys was characterized as final by the city, which has no intention to take the property by eminent domain, said City Solicitor James Timmins, who has been leading negotiations with the homeowners. Alternate plans have been drawn to move forward with the project leaving the Tasney home intact, Timmins said.
Both Timmins and Phelan said last week they have attempted to contact the other, but they haven’t had any discussions since the city made the offer to the Tasneys in January.
In 2013, the city announced it would need to take eight homes on Hunt Street, and one on Newbury Avenue across from the high school, for an expansion project that includes a 157-space parking lot and improvements to Teel Field. The project also aims to address flooding issues in the area.
Shortly after the City Council authorized financing for the project last summer, Timmins began negotiations with most of the homeowners. The city has spent $3.4 million to acquire seven of the properties, paying between 7 and 20 percent above the appraised value of the homes, he said. The properties are a stone’s throw from North Quincy Station on the MBTA’s Red Line, Route 3A, and the Southeast Expressway.
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As required by state law, the city also paid the homeowners additional amounts of $35,000 to $75,000 per home for relocation expenses for a total of $340,000, all coming out of the $12 million project budget, Timmins said.
The city recently reached an agreement to buy the other remaining property, a duplex at 42-44 Hunt St., for $520,000, or 16 percent higher than its appraised value, Timmins said. The city expects to close on the property by the end of the month, he said.
The school project, which would affect wetlands, still needs permits from the city’s Conservation Commission, and may need further review from state and federal agencies.
Phelan said he has not filed anything in court and will wait to see the plans the city puts forward to the Conservation Commission.
For his part, Tasney said he has not decided whether he will eventually leave his home, but the thought alone upsets him.
“I think it was handled really bad. We didn’t have a chance to vote if we’d like to have this city take a bunch of houses on our street,” he said. “I feel like I’m being taken advantage of, and that’s it.”
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Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKConti.