A former Charlestown box factory will get a new life as “work force housing” with assistance from former Los Angeles Lakers great, Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Johnson will announce this morning the opening of the Mezzo Design Lofts, a $54 million 146-unit, loft-style complex financed with help from Johnson’s real estate investment fund, the Canyon Johnson Urban Fund.
Johnson will meet with local middle school children and then later team up with city officials to unveil the project, which marks Johnson’s first successful venture in the Boston market. A Johnson-backed proposal to redevelop a key site in Roxbury - Heritage Common - lost out earlier this year to a competing proposal.
For Cathartes Private Investments, winning the backing of Johnson’s investment fund provided a crucial boost to a project that dates back to 1999. The proposal has gone through several ups and downs amid intensive negotiations with its neighbors, and shifting economic cycles.
“There were some fits and starts in the market between 1999 and now,” recalled Jim Goldenberg, a principal at Cathartes.
Despite the down housing market, Cathartes hopes the Mezzo Design Lofts, offering more affordably priced units, will hit a sweet spot in the local market.
In a market where most new construction is targeted at the $1 million and above market, the new Mezzo Design Lofts will offer units ranging from just over $300,000 up to the $600,000 range. The one-, two- and three-bedroom units will range in size from 600 square feet to 1,500 square feet.
“It’s hard not to be a little bit concerned,” Goldenberg said. “There is certainly a credit crunch. We really think that this project will be very competitive with other projects.”
Source: Boston Herald