If National Development does not incorporate three remaining buildings along Boston’s Albany Street into its Boston Herald site redevelopment, the project will not meet its full potential, say some neighborhood activists.

At a community meeting about the project, residents of the South End, Chinatown and South Boston asked why the Newton-based developer did not purchase the three remaining properties that could be redeveloped into 200-foot-tall buildings. Two of the three are now vacant, according to one attendee.

While the company has considered purchasing the properties, Sherry Clancy, vice president of the mall and office developer, said the market could not currently absorb that much development. As it stands, the proposal includes 85,000 square feet of retail space and 471 rental apartments, along with a structured parking lot adjacent to a building set aside as a grocery store of about 35,000 square feet. The project includes a nine-story building, two eight-story buildings and a five-story property.

While many of the residents that spoke at the meeting endorsed the project for its design and attention to detail, others questioned why the developer did not want to take advantage of the potential for 200-foot-tall properties along Albany Street as allowed under the city’s zoning code.

"It’s a suburban strip mall in an urban site," said Bill Moy, co-moderator of the Chinatown Neighborhood Council. "You’re not doing justice to the South End and Chinatown by doing what you’re doing."

However, Clancy said the firm is working with the Boston Redevelopment Authority to determine what reuse would be best for the three buildings in question. The developer is trying to create "18-hour uses" in the area to create more vibrancy and increase public safety in that part of the neighborhood.

"It’s a little bit of a frontier right now," Clancy opined.

That vibrancy will likely not come from a Whole Foods moving into the grocery store portion, as National Development has tried unsuccessfully to attract that company to the site, Clancy offered. An urban Stop & Shop is more likely, she said. Clancy anticipates starting construction by next January. The project will be built in phases and likely complete by 2016.