Professional Profile: Andrew Lane - 1974

Name: Andrew Lane - 1974

Title: Owner

Company: A.J. Lane & Co.

Location: Natick, MA

Birthplace: Natick, MA

Andrew Lane was born in Natick in 1931 and he has made the east central Mass. area his business base. One of 12 children, his father John was a Natick junior high school principal for over 30 years and has been afilliated with A.J. Lane & Co. since his retirement. Andy, his wife Carolyn, two daughters and a son now make their home in Sudbury. After high school he attended Boston University briefly. then went into business for himself, building his first home in Natick in 1954. By 1958 the company was incorporated and completed its first subdivision. 15 homes priced from $13.990. Since then the firm has constructed more than 4,000 single family homes in Framingham, Natick, Holliston, Hudson, Marlboro, Milford, Northboro, Shrewsbury, Southboro, Sudbury, Westboro and Worcester. Currently being marketed are seven subdivisions where prices range from $30,000 to $8o.ooo. In 1969 Andy began building apartments and in less than five years the company has constructed more than 700 luxury units in Framingham and Westboro. More recently, he has built condominiums, including a 168 unit luxury complex in Framingham and a 130 unit development in Orleans on Cape Cod. Lane is a member of the Home Builders Assn. of Mass. and the Greater Boston R.E. Board, the Framingham and Woreester Chambers of Commerce. In the community he is affiliated with Catholic Charities, Family Counseling and the Boy Scouts. His hobbies include tennis, skiing and sailing. What about the future of single families? “It’s going to become a luxury item. Rising costs will make values jump a good 25% jump within the next six months. The demand is still strong. but the supply is going to become very limited. very shortly. There just a aren’t many builders around who are still willing or able to building single families,” he says. Lane’s firm has seen a strong upsurge in sales during the past few months. “Mortgage rates haven’t really been the problem. We’ve been able to secure 8’12% mortgages from our banks with a 20% down payment. That gave us a strong advantage. The upsurge is indicative of the public’s renewed interest and very possibly an intuitive sense that increased costs are going to make single family homes a luxury.” As for the condominium field, Andy has this to say: “They’re a social reality. They have a novel air about them here only because they were so long in coming. The plain fact is that if you have to pay $20,000 for an acre of land. you certainly can’t build a house on it and sell it to the average family.” For the rest of the year he expects to build and sell dose to 400 houses. “There’s no doubt that greatly improved market conditions have established themselves. The pressure will be off the mortgage market. But 1974 will probably be one of the last big years for single families. Condominiums and apartments are clearly the answer.”