Image courtesy of Stantec

Acres of parking on the Dorchester waterfront will become Boston’s next major mixed-use development including nearly 2,000 housing units under a 6.1-million-square-foot master plan approved by the Boston Planning & Development Agency.

The Dorchester Bay City project by Accordia Partners will include 21 buildings including office, lab and retail space. The 36-acre site, including the former Bayside Expo Center property on Columbia Point, is expected to be built out over approximately two decades. Developers agreed to include 20 percent income-restricted units in the seven residential buildings.

“On the left you have 36 acres of flood-prone, runoff creating, hot treeless parking which is home to 2,800 cars,” developer Kirk Sykes said in a presentation, contrasting an aerial photo of the current conditions with renderings of the envisioned project. “On the right: open, inviting, cooler, greener, resilient, supportive and empowering master planning at work.”

The project includes a major commitment by developers to protect the Dorchester and South Boston waterfront from encroaching sea level rise. Accordia Partners is contributing over $18 million toward a 23-foot-tall flood barrier extending north along the Dorchester Shores Reservation to Moakley Park, a project that will be coordinated with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and city of Boston.

City climate studies identified the area as a flood pathway that would threaten properties as far as Roxbury and South End in a major storm. The Dorchester Bay site and its interior road network also will be elevated to protect buildings and roads from flooding at a cost of $52 million.

Boston Harbor Now Executive Director Kathy Abbott said the project is a model of future partnerships between developers and public agencies on coastal resiliency.

“Dorchester Bay City offers an incredible opportunity to realize large-scale, climate resilience infrastructure improvements that will protect tens of thousands of people, improve transportation and provide world class recreation. To their credit, the Dorchester Bay City team has put together a climate plan that includes improvements to publicly owned city and state property beyond the borders of the development parcel,” Abbott said in a statement following Thursday’s approval.

The vote approves the first 2.1 million square feet of development in nine buildings, while setting aside 5 acres of open space including a new waterfront park and boardwalk.

The community benefits package includes $23 million for Moakley Park repairs and maintenance and $42 million for transportation projects including new pedestrian and bicycle lanes on Columbia Road and designs of renovations to the MBTA’s JFK/UMass station.

The project’s linkage payments will generate nearly $54 million toward the city’s affordable housing fund, nearly $10 million for job training and $10 million for a Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance program designed to close the state’s racial home ownership gap.

Developers estimate the 4 million-square-foot office and R&D component will create up to 17,000 permanent jobs.

“Our team started with a bold plan to create a truly spectacular, inclusive, and multipurpose space in this location; in particular, the idea of advancing economic opportunity was a driver in all major decisions about key project components,” Sykes and Accordia Partners’ Richard Galvin said in a statement. “Based on detailed community comments, we were able to further enhance the major benefits of this project important to the community, particularly housing affordability, transportation infrastructure, new park spaces, and resiliency.”