The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) has issued a request-for-proposals (RFP) seeking development teams for two privately financed, mid-priced hotels totaling between 400 and 500 rooms on approximately three of the 5.6 acres of land the MCCA recently purchased on D Street near the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, MCCA Executive Director James E. Rooney announced Friday.

Proposals are due Jan. 7, 2013, with groundbreaking for the new hotels scheduled to take place by late 2013 and completion by 2015.

"We have set the bar very high," Rooney said in a statement, "but we also think we’re providing a great opportunity."

The MCCA expects the two hotels to be built next to each other, and to share certain facilities, such as fitness rooms, kitchens and service areas. The MCCA is requiring that the hotels include leasable ground floor retail or restaurant space in a move aimed at activating the entire D Street corridor in the South Boston Waterfront. The hotels are geared to be mid-priced, with room rates and amenities below the existing four-star hotels in the area.