Business & Tech

Former BC Football Captain and NFL Player Joins Assembly Row Team

Five questions with Russ Joyner, former football player and new general manager at Somerville's Assembly Row.

Russ Joyner, a former Boston College football captain who played with Doug Flutie and who spent two seasons in the NFL—with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts—is the newest member of the Assembly Row team here in Somerville.

Off the football field, Joyner, 52, has around 27 years of experience in the retail shopping center business, and at the beginning of July he began his new role as vice president and general manager at Assembly Row, the massive retail, residential and office development under construction along the Mystic River in Somerville. Federal Realty Investment Trust is the developer.

The New York City native spent much of his career in Hollywood and Las Vegas. In Hollywood he was a vice president and general manager at the Hollywood & Highland Center, which includes retail and entertainment space, including the Kodak Theatre, now the Dolby Theatre, where the Academy Awards are held. Joyner also spent some years in Las Vegas as vice president and general manager at the Miracle Mile Shops.

Somerville Patch met up briefly with Joyner to talk about his new role here in Somerville. Here are five questions and topics we talked about:

Talk about your time as a football player
 "A lot of fond memories. The NFL experience was brief, but long enough to say I did it. Up until recently short enough not to limp when it rains," he joked.

He was captain of Boston College's football team in 1982. That team went to the Tangerine Bowl. "That was the first team to make it to a bowl game in over 40 years at the time," he said. "That was with Doug Flutie and company." Joyner said the team didn't win any games his freshman year. Flutie's famous Hail Mary pass took place in 1984, after Joyner had graduated.

So, is coming back to Boston a homecoming for you?
"It is in a lot of ways. I'm originally from New York, but I came to Boston as a boy, a 17- to 18-year-old kid, with visions to push football as far as I could and become a businessman. That was my goal at 17, and I went to Boston to realize those things. And Boston was very good to me."

What's your role here at Assembly Row?
"My role ultimately is to be the person who's responsible for running the property and fulfilling the the promise of what Assembly Row is supposed to be on a day-to-day basis, and that is running a fine-tuned, efficient project, and fulfilling the promise to the expectations of the company, the community and the like, and delivering a first class project on a regular basis. [Also, to] respond to the feedback and the comments of the community and deliver on those expectations as well, and ultimately make it another one of the jewels of both the company, Federal Realty, and make it a source of pride for Somerville."

You have lots of retail experience, but Assembly Row also has residential and office aspects, is that new to you?
"There's a common denominator, although my background is sort of retail specifically, I have a sort of affinity and ability to appreciate the value of mixed uses. When you look some of my projects, for example in Hollywood, retail was one component, but [so was] entertainment, retail, hotel, and the like. We talked about the Kodak Theatre and the Academy Awards. I didn't have any background whatsoever dealing with that element, but you learn, you learn what their goals and expectations are."

He added, "If a property becomes a destination in whatever form, everyone wins. And so I look at office, I look at residential, I look at those as opportunities to enhance the retail reach, and for retail to enhance those elements"

What are your challenges here at Assembly Row?
Joyner said he had just started work the week before, so "I think my project immediately is to get my arms around every aspect of the project, understand where the opportunities may be, where the historical challenges may be, and overcome them. Find the 'yes' on things."

He said of Assembly Row, "There are a lot of compelling aspects to this thing, it really is going to make this thing fundamentally a winner."


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