With construction set to begin on the $550 million Omni hotel in the Seaport District, Massport will seek proposals for three more parcels in its real estate portfolio capable of supporting 1.6 million square feet of development.

Massachusetts Port Authority will offer up opportunities to develop 1.6 million square feet in Boston’s Seaport District amid the neighborhood’s relentless commercial real estate boom. 

A 400,000-square-foot office development next to the MBTA’s World Trade Center station is attracting interest from top developers as a deadline for proposals approaches this month. The 1.2-acre parking lot abuts the new 1,550-space Massport parking garage and the MBTA’s World Trade Center station. 

“What we love about it is it’s got the great public transit access, it’s got the benefit of the parking garage and it’s right in the heart of one of the dynamic parts of the Seaport District,” said Jonathan Davis, CEO of The Davis Cos., which is preparing a proposal. 

Massport’s selection criteria include a significant diversity and inclusion plan, a factor that helped a Davis Cos.-led team win Massport’s approval to build a $550 million Omni hotel at 440 Summer St. last year. 

If recent history is a guide, the prospects for attracting a high-profile office tenant at parcel A-2 are strong. 

Developers of speculative and build-to-suit office buildings in the Seaport have attracted corporate headquarters of General Electric, Reebok, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, PTC and Cengage since 2016, along with Amazon’s 430,000-square-foot tech hub opening in 2021 and Springfield-based MassMutual’s future 300,000-square-foot Boston offices at Fan Pier. 

Two other Massport-controlled parcels on Summer Street and Northern Avenue also are expected to be made available within 12 months, according to Massport’s strategic real estate plan. 

The 2.1-acre Parcel D-3 on Summer Street across from the Westin Boston Waterfront hotel could support up to 700,000 square feet of development. And the 1-acre Parcel H just east of the John Hancock offices could support 400,000 square feet of commercial or multifamily space. All of the parcels would be offered through ground leases, and preferred uses have yet to be announced. 

Steve Adams

More Commercial Development for Marine Park 

As development creeps eastward to the Seaport’s remaining vacant land, much of it controlled by Massport and the Boston Planning and Development Agency, a tug-of-war is beginning over future uses. 

The BPDA is updating a master plan for the 191-acre Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park, with zoning that would reduce the requirement for marine industrial uses from 67 to 51 percent. A draft version of the plan released last year estimated that the marine park could support 4.2 million square feet of new development. 

“The bottom line is we don’t need as much industrial space as we used to, and the demographics and the business practices of the city have changed a lot in 50 years since the industrial park was first created,” said John Hynes III, CEO of Seaport Square master developer Boston Global Investors. “It’s just a matter of time before they start allowing more mixed uses.” 

Demand for traditional waterfront uses such as fish processing facilities has declined, according to the BPDA, or requires expensive upgrades to dock facilities that aren’t supportable in development business models. 

The BPDA suggests allowing commercial space on upper floors to subsidize ground-floor industrial users and their costly infrastructure. It also proposes broadening the definition of port-related uses to include distribution facilities that process goods trucked into the park from Logan International Airport. 

But Massport and other groups say the BPDA understates the outlook for the traditional port economy. 

“Massport continues to believe there is more demand for maritime industrial uses than acknowledged in the draft master plan,” Massport Deputy Director Gordan Carr wrote in a response letter to the BPDA. 

A large development is in the works at Massport’s 29-acre Marine Terminal site. Malden-based Pilot Development Partners proposes a 283,689-square-foot development, including a 48,000-square-foot seafood and distribution plant for Boston Sword & Tuna, which would relocate and expand from 8 Seafood Way. 

And at 25 Fid Kennedy Ave., Watertown-based mechanical contractor J.C. Cannistraro is wrapping up renovations of a dilapidated World War II-era machine shop into a 157,000-square-foot assembly plant. The project enables the company to consolidate its manufacturing and warehouse functions from Watertown, Wilmington and Stoughton in the Seaport. 

Massport cited a consultant’s study that the traditional port economy supports 7,000 direct jobs, while the Boston Fish Pier is operating at full capacity. Massport also objected to proposals to shift heavy vehicle trucking trips to the Massport Haul Road, disrupting distribution routes.  

New opportunities to expand the seafood industry have emerged as imported seafood is flown into Logan to be processed in South Boston, said Jill Valdez Horwood, director of waterfront policy for Boston Harbor Now. 

“We feel confident through our research that it’s not an accurate statement to say the maritime industry is a dying industry,” Horwood said. “There’s just different areas of growth.”