After nearly a year-long renovation, the old McMahon House at 310 Convention St. downtown is nearly complete and will be rechristened The Grand Lady—a seven-unit, multifamily complex with one- and two-bedroom apartments, and an efficiency unit.
“It has really been a labor of love,” says investment banker Mark Hudson, who bought the long-vacant house in May 2014 with his wife, Debbie, for $535,000. “It wasn’t easy, but it was an act of love.”
Most of the work on the house is complete, and painters are currently completing the exterior paint job, covering the bright yellow hue with a more historically appropriate shade of dark brown. Hudson hopes to begin leasing the units by the end of the summer and says he has fielded a lot of interest so far. He plans to lease the efficiency apartment for around $1,200 per month, the one-bedroom units for $1,700 per month and the two-bedroom unit for $2,700 per month.
Hudson’s total investment in the house will top $1.8 million, but he credits state and federal historic building tax credits with making the project feasible.
“Without the tax credits this would not have been a feasible project and it would have been torn down,” he says. “Now, even when we’re not around, this house is going to be around as a beautiful asset to downtown. That’s what it’s all about—that’s the proper utilization of these rules and these credits.”
—Stephanie Riegel
