For all of its acclaim as an economic success story – luring thousands of well-paying jobs from startups to corporate behemoths – Boston’s Seaport District still has a bit of an image problem.

Bland architecture, sparse public and cultural amenities and a shortage of services for full-time residents are frequent complaints lobbed at current conditions in the 1,000-acre district. But as residential buildings start to dominate the next wave of development, the Seaport could start to look and feel a lot more like a Boston neighborhood.

A group led by Pasadena, California-based Cottonwood Management plans to break ground this fall on Seaport Square parcels M1 and M2, transforming 3 acres of crumbling parking lots into one of the largest and most distinctive developments yet built on the waterfront. “The slam on the Seaport at this point is that there are all these big boxy buildings,” said Rebecca Mattson, a principal at Cottonwood Management. “Every (building) lands on the curb and just goes straight up. So we pulled the towers off dead center and have smaller (podiums) that help step down the massing. With such an oversized site and with a pedestrian courtyard in the middle, it’s vastly different than everything that’s been built in Seaport Square: much more pedestrian friendly, more residential, more welcoming.”

KPF Architects designed three residential towers, each with a variety of heights, setbacks and exterior patterns for the 1-million-square-foot project. The overall effect, designers told city officials, will resemble books of various sizes stacked upon a shelf. Pedestrian passageways will lead to a half-acre courtyard in the center of the site, suitable for performances or public markets. Buildings were designed with varying setbacks from the property line.

A walkway which previously would have angled toward the southeastern corner of Congress Street was redesigned to loop back toward Seaport Boulevard and the waterfront, Mattson said. Other pedestrian paths increase permeability, encouraging the public to walk through the property rather than around it.

Cottonwood is leading the investment group including HGC Capital Group of Beijing and Celona Capital of Hong Kong which acquired the property last year from Boston Global Investors and Morgan Stanley for $120 million.

MIT graduate Alexander Shing founded Cottonwood in 2011 after working in private equity and software companies in the Boston area. Cottonwood owns or manages commercial and multifamily properties in 11 metros across the U.S., and had been trying to get into the booming Greater Boston multifamily market, Shing said. It earlier tried to acquire One Seaport Square, which was eventually sold to Berkshire Group for its 832-unit Via and Benjamin apartment complexes, scheduled to open next year. Mattson, another MIT grad and veteran of Boston development projects, joined Cottonwood last year as it opened its Boston office and began the final stages of permitting after buying M1 and M2.

The residential component of the $800 million M block project will contain a pair of 275-unit and 180-unit condominium towers, and a 280-unit building that could include both condos and apartments. Cottonwood recently selected Regent Hotels & Resorts to manage its residential space in Seaport Square and a similar mixed-use development on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The residences will be marketed under the Regent brand, similar to Carpenter & Co.’s Four Seasons Residences at 1 Dalton St. in Back Bay.

Pier 4 Boulevard, previously known as East Service Road, runs along the west side of the property and is envisioned as a key retail block in a neighborhood that still doesn’t have enough population density to support a supermarket. Newton-based WS Development will own the 125,000-square-foot retail space on the first two floors.

WS Development has leased approximately 65 percent of the 250,000-square-foot retail space at One Seaport Square, Vice President Brian Sciera said. It has not yet begun negotiations for the retail at the M block, but as with the rest of Seaport Square, there will be a mix of clothing stores, fast-casual and sit-down restaurants and service businesses, Sciera said.

Nearly all of the 85,000 square feet of retail space at the Watermark Seaport apartment tower and PwC’s 101 Seaport office building is spoken for as well, Sciera said. Those retailers will begin opening this summer. Although WS has not officially confirmed tenants, published reports have indicated the space will include a CVS and a Shake Shack.

The 1-million-square-foot M block in Boston’s Seaport Square will contain 735 residences in three residential towers and 125,000 square feet of retail space.

‘Everyone Understands That Retail Activates Streets’

Projects such as the M Block, Tishman Speyer’s office and condo development at Pier 4, the final 12 acres at Seaport Square and Massport’s K parcel will bring more 24-hour life to the neighborhood in the next few years.

The bulk of the remaining parking lots in the 23-acre Seaport Square, sold last fall to WS Development, will have a heavy residential component. The 12-acre site is approved for just 400,000 square feet of office space, with the remaining 2.4 million square feet set aside residential buildings, retail space and hotels.

Massport is in the late stage of negotiations on redevelopment of its parcel K parking lot at 315 Northern Ave. into a 12-story, 480,240-square-foot complex including 304 apartments and a 250-room hotel.

Designed by Boston-based architects Arrowstreet, parcel K was influenced by Liberty Wharf, the mixed-use project built at the former Jimmy’s Harborside restaurant property in 2011, Arrowstreet Principal David Bois said. Designs for parcel K also call for restaurant and retail shops fronting on Northern Avenue and a courtyard in the center of the project.

The parcel, located across from the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, will help fill in the thinly-developed blocks between the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and the waterfront, Bois said.

Unlike many Boston neighborhoods, the master-planned Seaport has called for a mix of commercial and residential uses. But with development driven by market conditions, growth has been uneven, Bois noted. Office construction and luxury apartments came first; high-end condos and retail space appear to be next.

“Everyone understands that retail activates streets,” Bois said. “What you need is that critical mass of pedestrians and users to help generate the retail traffic. We’re finally at the stage where the Seaport is starting to get that critical mass.”

Jonathan Ginnis, design director at Gensler in Boston, said it’s unfair to compare the Seaport to Boston neighborhoods that grew organically over decades.

“It’s a new neighborhood and as things develop, character will continue to evolve,” Ginnis said. “You often heard complaints about the Big Dig during its construction, however the Greenway has proven to be a fantastic addition to our city.”