Photo courtesy of the MCCA

The Hynes Convention Center property in Back Bay could be back in play for a multi-million-square-foot private redevelopment project.

Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to propose sale of the state-owned meeting hall again as commercial development activity recovers. State Rep. Jay Livingstone, whose 8th Suffolk District includes Back Bay, told the Boston Globe that the Hynes sale is expected to be part of an economic development bill filed by the administration this spring.

Back Bay hoteliers and hospitality industry leaders waged a campaign in 2020 against the potential sale, warning of negative effects upon neighborhood restaurants and retailers. Many of the largest conventions have migrated from the Hynes to the 18-year-old Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, which includes 516,000 square feet of contiguous space in contrast to the Hynes’ smaller meeting spaces.

But prior to the pandemic, the Hynes property still served as a significant draw to the neighborhood, attracting approximately 500,000 annual visitors according to the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.

Baker originally proposed the Hynes sale in 2019, pitching it as a way to pay for a 500,000-square-foot expansion of the BCEC and avoid $200 million in anticipated repairs to the Back Bay property.

The proposal was shelved in early 2020 after the onset of COVID-19 disrupted the travel and real estate industries.

But commercial development, particularly life science projects, quickly rebounded in Greater Boston, which leads the nation with 9.6 million square feet of lab space under construction, according to a report this week by Cushman & Wakefield.

Despite strict zoning and historic preservation regulations in Back Bay, the neighborhood has started to attract lab projects.

In October, Boston-based Samuels & Assoc. Received permission from the Boston Planning & Development Agency to include 118,191 square feet of lab space in a 448,000-square-foot office tower under construction near the corner of Newbury Street and Massachusetts Avenue.

When the Hynes sale was last debated in 2020, the BPDA said the existing zoning allows approximately 3 million square feet of development on the 6-acre property.