NorthPoint, the 45-acre site in East Cambridge that is slated to become one of the largest developments in New England has new investors.
Los-Angeles-based Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds, which developed an apartment complex on Brighton Street in Charlestown four years ago, has partnered with the HYM Investment Group LLC of Boston and Atlas Capital Group of New York to renew the project, which calls for retail, office, hotel, residential and laboratory space. Part of the former Pan Am rail yard spills into Charlestown and Somerville.
Canyon-Johnson is a joint venture between Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and an entity of Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s Magic Johnson Enterprises. Johnson founded his company in 1991 after he retired from the Los Angeles Lakers.
The HYM Investment Group, headed by Thomas N. O’Brien, a former director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, will be responsible for the day-to-day planning and development. Pan Am Railways remains an investment partner in the project.
Two residential complexes, the Tango and the Sierra, about 10 acres of parkland and some of the interior roads with utilities were built, but the development stalled about three years ago when the partnership unraveled and the feuding partners took each other to court.
“It’s time to move this valuable project forward, and we couldn’t have a better partner than Canyon-Johnson,” O’Brien said Wednesday in a press release.
Added Canyon managing partner Bobby Turner: “We are thrilled to be back in the Boston area and to breathe new life into a large, strategically located piece of land that has been underutilized for too long.”
“Bobby and his team have demonstrated time and again their vision and commitment to urban revitalization,” added O’Brien. “We embrace that vision and look forward to completing this great project.”
NorthPoint is transit-oriented, close to the MBTA’s Green Line and a short walk to the Bunker Hill Community College Orange Line or even the Museum of Science Park Red Line. In addition, the MBTA plans to build a new station at Lechmere Station as part of its expansion to Tufts University in Medford.
Added David Ridini, a managing director of CJUF: “The Boston area has outpaced the national economy throughout the recent recession, and the now-burgeoning life science and education sectors are driving demand for commercial and residential space.”