Irish immigrant builds successful real estate business

By David Liscio -- The Daily Item

December 10, 2004

A soft-spoken entrepreneur from Ireland who managed to parlay a modest workman's salary into a burgeoning Boston real estate development company was honored Thursday by the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce as Businessperson of the Year.

John McGrail, president and chief executive officer of The Mayo Group, left his native Ireland's County Mayo in 1987 for a new life in America.

He invested in real estate, first Boston and later in the outlying suburbs, most recently Lynn.

The gamble paid off, for today McGrail's company owns and man-ages more than 1,500 residential units and about one million square feet of commercial space.

Over the past two years, the Mayo Group has made a visible impact on downtown Lynn, purchasing former commercial and industrial buildings and restoring them for sale or lease.

Several of those properties are in Central Square or the immediate vicinity, including the Pevear apartment building on Munroe Street, the former LeVar's Bar at the corner of Washington and Union streets, and the Keith building and former Klemm's restaurant, both in Central Square. Mayo Group work crews are also gutting what was once Ross Jewelers and The Stage Door costume shop on lower Union Street.

"People told us we were crazy to invest in Lynn," McGrail told the capacity crowd at the Porthole restaurant and pub.

McGrail noted that Lynn is enjoying an economic revival. "I'm glad that the Mayo Group is able to play a small part in this huge rebound," he said.

The chamber recognized several business persons, including Lynn attorney Paul Keating and Eastern Bank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stanley Lukowski, both of whom were inducted into the organization's Hall of Fame.

David Hughes of Century 21 Hughes Real Estate received the annual Community Service Award, while the Lynn Museum and Historical Society was given the Good Neighbor Award.

Community Commitment Awards for Lynn went to real estate developer David Potter of the North Bay Company, Frank Hope of Hope Trucking and Demolition, real estate investor Alex Steinberg of RCG Associates, and to the Lynnway Recreation and Sport Center, owned and operated by Paul, Shawn and Michael Crowley

The Big Dog recreation center in Lynnfield won the Commitment Award for that community, while artist Carol Hanson, owner of The School of Refrigerator Door Art took the honors for Nahant.

The two Commitment Awards for Swampscott were given to Attorney William DiMento, and to Joseph Caponigro and Michael Giardi, owners of The Hit Zone, a baseball and softball training facility,

Kevin Donahue, the chamber's executive director, said 2004 was a banner year for local business. Among the highlights cited: creation of an Inspectional Services Department at City Hall to handle permitting; changes in the city's zoning code to allow for taller buildings, less parking, and greater density; and the public auction of mostly-vacant city-owned buildings that have been returned to the tax rolls.

Mayor Edward Clancy Jr. was keynote speaker.