Urban Edge, a community development corporation that serves Boston’s Jamaica Plain and Roxbury neighborhoods, recently broke ground on the Amory Street Residences (shown in rendering). The 64-unit rental development is near Jackson Square, where a large-scale plan to redevelop public parcels is under way.

A lengthy process to redevelop Jackson Square in Boston’s Jamaica Plain and Roxbury neighborhoods into a mix of housing, retail and community space is apparently inching forward. The Boston Redevelopment Authority recently voted to seek proposals for publicly owned parcels in Jackson Square totaling slightly more than six acres.

The BRA is expecting to advertise the request for proposals in early spring. The vote to advertise the RFP came five months after the conclusion of a community planning phase initiated about five years ago. Now, two community-based groups that have actively participated in the planning process and worked to revitalize the area are gearing up to submit proposals.

“We’re definitely interested in playing a development role,” acknowledged Richard Thal, executive director of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp.

“We have obviously been preparing to respond for about nine years,” said Mossik Hacobian, executive director of Urban Edge. “We definitely intend to respond.”

Situated near the Jackson Square stop on the MBTA Orange Line – at the crossroads of Roxbury and Jamaica Plain – the site is a perfect example of transit-oriented development that has been heavily endorsed by Gov. Mitt Romney’s administration. Early in the year, Romney pledged $100 million for the construction of mixed-income housing over the next three years, setting aside $22 million for housing built around mass transit stations. The announcement came shortly after Romney launched a transit-oriented development initiative, urging communities to battle suburban sprawl by supporting residential and commercial development near transportation hubs.

“This [Jackson Square] is the poster child for transit-oriented development,” said Muhammed Al-Salaam, deputy director for special projects at the BRA, noting that the redevelopment will be eligible for some state funds.

In separate interviews, both Hacobian and Thal indicated the two organizations have had “conversations” about the possibility of teaming up to develop the site. Hacobian said he wants to avoid the prospect of the two groups submitting competing proposals, as was the case recently when two Mattapan community development corporations were part of teams that presented two different development proposals for the unused Boston State Hospital property.

In that case, after a mixed-use development proposal by the Lena Park Community Development Corp. and its team was endorsed by a citizens group, a compromise deal was struck to allow the Mattapan Community Development Corp. and its partners to build a 300-unit housing project they had proposed on 20 acres on the hospital campus.

“It’s conceivable we might see that here,” said Hacobian, referring to the potential for competing proposals. “We think that it might be a good idea to coordinate our efforts before we respond [to the RFP] Â… I think we will at least coordinate our efforts.”

Hacobian said Urban Edge has been talking with potential partners about Jackson Square, but declined to name them. He said Urban Edge intends to put together a strong team that will have wide community support and the financial capacity to maximize the potential of the site.

“We’ve been in conversations with Urban Edge. I’m confident that we’re going to have a productive relationship,” Thal said.

Both groups have made substantial investments to eliminate blight in the neighborhood. Just last Saturday Urban Edge had a groundbreaking for a 64-unit mixed-income rental development on Amory Street, located less than one-tenth of a mile from the Jackson Square MBTA Orange Line subway station. Urban Edge also purchased a parcel with three buildings across from the T station, utilizing one of the buildings for additional office space. The group has also been recognized for a helping a local tenant group preserve Academy Homes I, an affordable apartment development in Jackson Square.

In a similar fashion, JPNDC has been very involved in the neighborhood’s revitalization. The CDC was one of the development partners behind the transformation of a contaminated and unused five-acre site in the neighborhood into a shopping plaza which features a Super Stop & Shop supermarket and a health center that is affiliated with Children’s Hospital.

JPNDC leaders have also worked closely with the Back of the Hill CDC on several phases of housing in and around Heath Street, which is less than one-half mile from Jackson Square. JPNDC has also partnered with the tenant group of the Bromley-Heath public housing development and will break ground later this year on 56 affordable apartments for seniors along Bickford Street.

‘Tremendous Potential’

But the two CDCs have clashed in the past. Several years ago, JPNDC was vocal in its opposition to big-box retail stores when a plan supported by Urban Edge to bring a Kmart on public land at the corner of Center Street and Columbus Avenue surfaced. The plan ultimately was abandoned.

Urban Edge, JPNDC and others in the Jackson Square community have been working with the city and state to come up with a plan to successfully redevelop public parcels in the neighborhood that have been vacant for 30 years. Most of the land was left after buildings were demolished to redesign and expand a portion of Interstate 95 through Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, a plan that was later dropped.

In 1999, the Jackson Coordinating Group, with representatives from 31 organizations, was established to oversee a planning initiative for the neighborhood. Eventually, a development plan was drawn up and endorsed by the community last October. It called for at least 200 affordable housing units, some market-rate housing, approximately 22,500 square feet of retail or commercial space, a 40,000-square-foot youth or community center and parking spaces. A private landowner in the neighborhood has also indicated the possibility of developing 110 residential units.

Urban Edge sees potential for even more development in the neighborhood. In addition to the publicly owned land that is part of the RFP, Urban Edge is eyeing privately owned property that is contiguous to the site, and about two acres currently controlled by Department of Public Works that are used for a storage shed. Urban Edge also owns three buildings and a parking lot across from the T station and is the process of purchasing another acre nearby. When all is combined with public parcels that are available, that could open up to 12 acres for development.

If that additional land is thrown into the mix, Hacobian indicated that up to 400 housing units could be developed, as well as 100,000 square feet of community space and somewhere between 100,000 to 175,000 square feet of commercial space. “The potential is there for that,” said Hacobian.

In the meantime, the land, which is currently zoned for open space and industrial uses, must be rezoned to allow for residential development, according to Al-Salaam.

There are also various unresolved issues that need to be addressed, including a letter from the community with several conditions. For example, the community has asked the state and city to “fully remediate” the parcels, which have some environmental contamination, according to Al-Salaam. But Al-Salaam said there’s “no way the city or state could sign off” on this particular request because it’s not consistent with a memorandum of agreement that was signed earlier.

Despite such issues, many in the community are eager to proceed after dealing with neighborhood blight for so long.

“It’s an area that has tremendous potential,” said Thal. “It’s been a long time coming. We’re excited about rolling up our sleeves and seeing what can be built there and trying to get the resources to make it happen.”