A troubled and long-stalled loft project, once touted as key to reviving the city of Lawrence, is set to open as rental units, the developer of the project announced Tuesday.

Developer Bob Ansin said the "Monarch on the Merrimack" project is opening as rentals instead of condos in July after receiving around $30 million in bank funding and tax credits.

The $200 million project, which aimed to transform the historic Wood Worsted Mill into 200 loft-style condos, has been suspended since 2007 due to lawsuits, fights with the city’s fire department and the downturn in the real estate market.

Ansin said the project is now 40 percent complete and will begin renting some 34 lofts. The other units will open as construction is completed, he said.

"I was taught not to quit. It’s not in my blood, not in my D.N.A.," said Ansin, who invested around $30 million to keep the project going. "I’m glad I stuck with it because this is rewarding."

The quarter-mile-long, solid brick edifice is the site where Lawrence workers launched the 1912 "Bread and Roses" strike.

As part of the plan to continue the project, Ansin’s MassInnovation joined a U.S. Department of Interior program that gives tax credits for revitalized historic buildings in exchange for allowing the projects to become rentals for at least five years.

Ansin said he decided that was a good move since rental apartments are in high demand.

Ed Chazen, who teaches real estate finance at Babson College and is not affiliated with Ansin’s project, said the rental market is strong because many would-be buyers don’t have the credit to buy homes as mortgage companies have imposed stricter standards. He also said recent college graduates who may have been living with parents also are beginning to look for apartments as the job market slowly improves.

"The darlings of the real estate industry are apartments," said Chazen. "It’s a very robust market." (AP)