Image courtesy of WS Development

The next phase of WS Development’s Seaport project is being revised again with a decrease in commercial space and plans for more housing, 28 percent of which would be income-restricted.

The Boston Planning & Development Agency is reviewing WS’s proposals for blocks G and L and the 1.4-acre Seaport Common park on Northern Avenue.

In May, WS submitted a proposed update to the master-planned project eliminating a previously-approved hotel and 30,000-square-foot commercial building, while proposing two new buildings including offices, labs and housing.

Responding to comments from the public and city agencies in recent months, WS has further revised the next phase to shrink the commercial space by 80,000 square feet, eliminate any Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) research and add 100 housing units.

The 28-percent affordability component is believed to set a new city-wide threshold, WS Development Senior Vice President Yanni Tsipis said in presenting the changes to a BPDA advisory group this week. The income restrictions would apply to 166 of the planned 600 residences.

Boston city councilors this week pressed Mayor Michelle Wu to move faster on updates to the city’s inclusionary development policy, which sets minimums for affordable housing components in multifamily projects with 10 or more units.

WS is no longer seeking approval for one floor of BSL-3 lab space in each building, Tsipis said.

BSL-3 labs are approved under U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for research of potentially lethal diseases that can spread through inhalation.

In November, the BPDA announced new guidelines for how it reviews life science developments, with one of the goals ensuring that lower-risk BSL-1 and BSL-2 lab buildings are compatible with adjacent uses such as housing.

WS also committed to a public process to design the 1.4-acre Seaport Common park, including community meetings at various stages in the process, and consultation with the Boston Parks and Recreation Department.

But impact advisory group member Valerie Burns pressed WS to turn the Seaport Common property over to the city, citing a shortage of public recreation spots in the neighborhood.

In gaining approval for its 1.1 million-square-foot Channelside development in Fort Point this fall, Related Beal agreed to deed a 1.5-acre section of the 244-284 A St. property to the city for a park.

Tsipis said the privately-owned open space in the Seaport project is designed to welcome the public, avoiding the use of restrictive signage.

“We want that feeling of welcome to be front-and-center, just like it would be if it were a city of Boston park,” Tsipis said.