The proposal, which is the latest in a series of proposals for this site, calls for four buildings ranging in size from five to seven stories and a 670-car garage. In addition to the 400 market-rate units, the proposal calls for various retail and commercial spaces. The units will run from $350,000 to nearly $1 million, which still makes them cheaper than proposed condominiums at Fan Pier or Millennium Place. According to Carol Gladstone, project manager for Noddle, the project's largely residential nature is due to the "community's clear preference. The East Boston master plan calls for it."

This site has been vacant for nearly 20 years. About 12 years ago, developer Edward Saxe proposed a 370-unit condominium complex here but the collapse of the economy forced the plan to be abandoned. The Beal Cos. tried again four years ago but complained that the state's Chapter 91 regulations that monitor waterfront development made the project too difficult. This area is very eager to have its sites developed and the momentum provided by other projects--such as the mixed-use development being proposed by New Jersey-based Roseland for the adjacent Pier One, a wharf currently owned by the Massachusetts Port Authority--have made the option more viable.

However, Noddle still has to win over community residents in its public review of the project, which then must lead to an approval by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. There is some concern that not enough of the ground-floor space will be set aside for public use. Under Chapter 91, 75% of the ground floor space on the waterfront is set aside for public use but the developers have proposed moving some of that space to a different part of the site, closer to Maverick Square, away from the waterfront.