Is a gritty industrial corridor in South Boston destined to become the next Ink Block-style development cluster? 

Newton-based National Development is trying to acquire a group of commercial parcels along Dorchester Avenue, real estate industry sources say, as city officials draw up new zoning that would permit residential towers, office and lab space. A 2016 Boston Planning and Development Agency study estimated the rezoning could generate up to 16 million square feet of new development on 144 acres between the MBTA’s Broadway and Andrew stations over the next 20 years. 

Daniel Marr, CEO of construction equipment supplier Marr Cos., confirmed that National Development has approached him about buying the company’s Dorchester Avenue properties, which house various divisions serving the construction industry. So far, the sticking point has been finding up to 4 acres of industrial land for the company to relocate within Boston. 

“We’re listening, but we’re hard-pressed to move without finding a suitable replacement. I can’t service the Boston (building) industry if I move to Methuen or Bridgewater,” Marr said. 

Ted Tye, managing partner at National Development, declined to comment on specific properties but said in an email that the firm is “very enthusiastic about South Boston and sees it as an exciting area for new development in the city.” 

A real estate industry source said other properties on National Development’s wish list include the former Cole Hersee factory at 20 Old Colony Ave. and the Karas & Karas Glass Co. property at 297 Dorchester Ave. 

Boston-based Cole Development’s 5-acre holdings include the former Cole Hersee factory, which made electric switches for vehicles before shifting production to Mexico nearly a decade ago. The four-building complex was converted to a mix of office and industrial space, Cole Development’s Steven Mayer said this week. 

Mayer declined to comment on the potential sale of the property, but said the neighborhood is on the cusp of a development boom. 

“We’ve owned these buildings forever and this has always been a protected industrial zone since the (Mayor) Menino era,” he said. “It looks like the city is going to pull it off as long as the market remains robust.” 

Karas & Karas Glass has received multiple offers from qualified developers to buy its five Dorchester Avenue properties, President Joey Karas said. Unlike Marr Cos., its business model doesn’t require a Boston address, so it’s considering a move to the Stoughton and Canton area, he said. He declined to comment on talks with specific developers, but pointed to National Development’s Ink Block in South End as a model for Dorchester Avenue. 

“I’m optimistic and very excited about the opportunities coming to this part of the city. I know what I envision this property to look like in a few years, and Ink Block is an outstanding representation,” he said. 

National Development spearheaded the lower South End’s rapid change after acquiring the former Boston Herald property, building hundreds of high-end condominiums, apartments and a Whole Foods Market at Ink Block. 

Steve Adams

Rezoning for Increased Height and Density 

Many real estate investors see the South Boston Dot Ave. corridor as a logical next step for development south of downtown. 

Boston-based developer Cincotta Cos. received BPDA approval in January for a 159-room boutique hotel, to be built on the former Enterprise Rent-a-Car property at 248 Dorchester Ave. Developer Jason Cincotta said the neighborhood has potential to support a wide range of development including housing, offices and lab space. 

“Dot Ave. is an underutilized route into downtown Boston, with Broadway and Andrew stations being within a couple of stops of Downtown Crossing and the Financial District,” Cincotta said. “With the potential for office and lab space, the corridor is such an obvious place for it.” 

The BPDA board of directors in late 2016 approved a draft report that spells out broad guidelines for development in the South Boston Dot Ave. corridor, which is bounded to the west by I-93, rail lines and the MBTA’s Cabot Yard maintenance facility. 

The study anticipates up to 8 million square feet of residential development and up to 7 million square feet of office, lab and industrial space, with 1 million square feet of retail and cultural space on ground floors. Developers could build towers up to 300 feet on the western edge of the district. 

The final zoning regulations are still being drawn up by BPDA staff, and not expected to be enacted until late 2018 or early 2019 following another round of public comment, said Viktorija Abolina, a BPDA senior planner. 

But in the absence of final approval, the BPDA board has been approving projects that comply with the general goals of the draft plan, Abolina said. 

“We’ve been seeing an influx of projects that comply with these guidelines,” she said. 

One major change from the draft report will be the approval of larger floor plates for office and lab space, she said. In public comments, property owners said the maximum 20,000-square-foot floor plates are too small for life science and modern industrial companies’ current requirements. 

Cole Development’s Mayer said the BPDA’s goals for housing creation may be too aggressive but noted that the city’s building boom is rewriting the rules of what’s possible on the urban fringe. 

“When you look at the Fenway and the Orange Line corridor, these things are happening,” he said.