by Olivia Blanco Mullins

Natasha Perez, spokesperson for the Assembly Square Limited Partnership, spoke at the contributors meeting of the Somerville News about the plans Gravestar Inc. has for the development of Assembly Square.

“We are trying to make what is called a lifestyle center,” she said. Gravestar Inc., a real estate asset management company, and Tourist New England own almost 52 acres of land in the Assembly Square area. She said they are trying to build an area where small retail stores, the mall, residential and office space create a destination.

Perez, who grew up in Vermont, was drawn to Somerville by the active service community of the area. She worked as a community organizer and Medicare lobbyist, as well as campaign manager for Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone in his first mayoral campaign. Perez now works for Gravestar Inc., which is based in Cambridge, and is the spokeswoman for ASLP.

Despite the possible conflicts of interest between Perez’s past and present careers, she said that her leftist background brings new visions to the real estate company she works for. “Someone is going to build, you might as well do it well,” said Perez.

Perez once worked for the late John O’Connor who was an environmentalist and ran a farmer’s aid program. Gravestar Inc. developed from that family’s portfolio, under the direction of Carolyn Mugar O’Connor, his widow. Perez said the company listens to the community and keeps environmental and community benefit ideals.

The original plan for the Assembly Square area was to develop retail, but the city of Somerville called for residential space and environmental development as well. The residences will be one and two bedroom apartments in five to six story buildings. The first level of the buildings will be reserved for retail. The office space will be for small businesses such as law firms and medical offices.

The buildings will be double loaded, meaning all sides of a building will be developed. At Porter Square, a previous project of Gravestar Inc., double loading doubled the number of people coming to the area.

“Parking will be tight,” said Lopez.

Gravestar’s goal is to create an active area where people can park their car and walk from one side to the other. The city is looking into opening a T-stop in the area, where orange line tracks already run through. There have also been talks about placing additional bus stops on current Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority routes while the T-stop is being constructed.

Somerville will benefit from the development of the area by acquiring a net tax revenue of $2.5 million a year, she said. According to the city of Somerville’s Web site, the development of the area will also create an alternative destination from downtown and the suburbs, and an improvement of the waterfront, along with the creation of jobs.