We’re in the one of the worst economies since the Great Depression. This can’t be fun or easy for you.

I’d say it’s neither. There have been a couple factors that we can point to that have allowed us during this downturn to continue to have success. One is that LNR, despite what people may have projected publicly, is a company that has always stayed true to SouthField. We today have about $87 million into this project and we continue to fund it. The second piece is we were able to consummate a public-private partnership. The way these large projects are successful is to have [public funds] help pay for infrastructure, because it can’t all be put on the private developer. The costs are too vast. Governor [Deval] Patrick has committed about $45 million to start a parkway (across the base), and that has put the project in a position where other investors have comfort that the capital is there for this project.

T he first homes in the development are now under construction, but how long will it take to start retail and commercial building given the sluggishness of those sectors?

The commercial markets right now are very challenging, and it’s going to make it difficult to bring any significant advances during the next two years. The only exceptions to that would be the studio project [looking to break ground this summer] and a few build-to-suit office buildings. We do have a couple small businesses looking at coming to SouthField, but as far as the 2 million square feet we’re talking about, it’s going to be a couple of years before that truly gets off the ground.

T o get this project approved, you had to run a political gauntlet — multiple gubernatorial administrations, the Navy, local officials, and others. It must have been enough to drive you nuts.

When you get into redevelopment of closed naval bases, which is one of LNR’s core competencies, you kind of know the blueprint of what you have to do. You have to be willing to commit on the front end to spending a lot of dollars on things like public outreach, spending time with local, state, and federal opponents and proponents. I’m on this seven days a week, 24 hours a day. The phone is always on. If you have to meet a neighborhood group at 7 in the morning on a Sunday, that’s just part of the job.

What surprised you most about the public process?

The multiple layers of approval that go with it. If you’re working on something for MassHighway — from all the way down to engineering and back up to the secretary’s office, it is a very detailed and very long process with a lot of stakeholders. The time you think it’s going to take you usually is not enough time.

Why should people and companies move to SouthField?

From a location standpoint, it’s a one-of-a-kind opportunity — 12 miles from Boston and a half-hour from Cape Cod. SouthField will be the only community in New England that is a truly master-planned, smart-growth community that will have amenities such as golf, sports and recreation, a village center. We will have moderately priced housing [$330,000 to $520,000 for single-family homes and condominiums]; a 2-million-square-foot commercial campus that will offer a multitude of job opportunities; [and] retail stores, walking trails, the golf course, or other sports.

What will be in the sports complex?

We have a partnership with [former Red Sox general manager] Dan Duquette and a group of investors who are looking to do a $20 million to $25 million complex that will have five or six outdoor fields, about the same number of baseball fields, and a sheet or two of ice. Some component of the fields will be open to the public.