Predictions of big things ahead for East Boston’s waterfront have become something of an annual tradition. Now, though, a couple of developments are finally taking shape. This time, the boom may just be for real.

A deal that could pump millions in new investment money into Clippership Wharf, the long-delayed centerpiece of the neighborhood’s harborside redevelopment, is in the works, a spokesman for the project confirmed.

And after years of being stalled in development purgatory – basically alive only on paper plans filed at City Hall – two other major projects on Eastie’s waterfront, Portside at Pier One and New Street, are also showing clear signs of life.

Yet it’s more than just fresh capital – a new cast of investors and developers are descending upon East Boston’s hardscrabble waterfront and possibly giving legs to this rally. If nothing else, these are builders who don’t have the dubious luxury of sitting on valuable land year in, year out.

“It’s going to be an unbelievable stretch of waterfront, when it’s all done,” said Chris Fleming, a spokesman for Winn Development, which is in talks to bring in a new investor for the Clippership project.

Signs Of Progress

The most visible sign of progress on Eastie’s waterfront can be found at the Portside project, where New Jersey builder Roseland is well underway with construction of a five-story, 176-unit apartment project.

But it may soon have some competition. Literally right next door at Clippership Wharf, Winn Development could announce a deal with a new capital partner within the next month, Fleming said. It would be a big break for Winn, which has been struggling to get the project underway since lining up all state and city permits a decade ago. Winn would stay in the deal under the agreement, which is in the final stages of being hammered out. The question of in what capacity Winn will serve, such as joint developer with the new investor, has yet to be settled, Fleming said.

Once the deal is inked, the next order of business will be to update the proposal. At 400 residential units, it is probably too large to be built in a single shot, according to Fleming. The old proposal called mainly for condos; the revised project is likely to involve a mix of apartments and rentals, possibly broken up into phases, he said.

The development team will have to win the blessing of the Boston Redevelopment Authority for the changes, a process that could take about a year. Construction would begin in 2015, Fleming said.

“It will feel like the waterfront on the North End or in the Seaport District,” he said of the development projects poised to finally move ahead in East Boston. “It is going to create a whole new community down there.”

Meanwhile, a third key development proposal on Eastie’s harborside is also being resurrected, with Portland developer Gerding Edlen taking over the New Street project. Stalled for years, the proposal calls for 163 apartments.

New Money, New Hope

Of course, soaring rents and condo prices are helping to lift all projects along Boston’s waterfront, with East Boston no exception. The average condo price in downtown Boston is nearing $1 million, while over in South Boston’s Seaport/Innovation District, micro units are renting out for $2,000. And that’s the affordable stuff.

But while a rising market is key, prices and rents were also steep in the mid-2000s, when Clippership Wharf and other projects on East Boston’s waterfront were first looking ripe. However, there clearly wasn’t the sense of urgency that a new developer – and aggressive investment money – can bring to a project.

The New Street project, for example, was bought by Gerding from a family trust that had owned it for years, while Winn has owned Clippership for decades – demonstrating how long-time developers can afford to sit on a property and wait for the right moment.

But the new players on the East Boston waterfront have no choice but to get moving as quickly as possible – the initial price on the Clippership site, when it was put on the market two years ago, was $16 million.

The developers taking charge on the East Boston waterfront “are not going to hold it for several more decades,” said Vivien Li, head of the Boston Harbor Association. “Every day you don’t build on it, you are paying back a loan. You are not going to be able to realize any revenue until you build.”

In fact, a similar scenario on the South Boston Seaport may provide a model for Eastie’s waterfront.

Yes, the Seaport/Innovation District is booming now, but it was acres upon acres of windswept parking lots a decade ago. Would-be developers like Nick Pritzker and Frank McCourt sat for years on some of the most valuable waterfront development sites on the East Coast. Both developers had acquired these valuable lots – today’s Fan Pier and Seaport Square – years before at nothing close to their market value. And both could afford to sit and wait for the perfect market, making a nice profit in the meantime on their vast acres of parking.

It was only when a new wave of developers came along – Joe Fallon over at Fan Pier and John Hynes at what is now Seaport Square – that things got moving. Fallon shelled out $115 million, while Hynes and Gale International paid $200 million – and there was no way parking fees were going to pay off the debt load on those properties.

Here’s hoping a similar storyline plays out on East Boston’s waterfront. 

Email: sbvanvoorhis@hotmail.com