The project will be carried out under a long-term ground lease arrangement. Massport says it envisions the property, which it terms the "Core Block," as a "high-profile, mixed-use development" that will total more than 1.5 million sf. The property is located near the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center construction site as well as the World Trade Center, and Massport emphasizes that it wants to see a hotel with "direct physical connection" to the center as part of any proposal. The proposed 1,120-room convention center hotel, which is supposed to be built by Starwood Resorts & Hotels Worldwide, has yet to get off the ground because of financing difficulties.

Other recommendations for the site include "uses that provide a major year-round destination of regional and local draw," such as: destination retail, entertainment and cultural activities; a mid-priced hotel complementary to other nearby hotels; offices; and a critical mass of residences. An emphasis is also placed on "elements designed to attract visitors to the area in the winter months."

Massport says that the Core Block is the largest development site in its 60-acre Commonwealth Flats property in South Boston. The Core Block covers 8.3 acres and can also include an additional 1.3-acre parcel and a 2.1-acre parcel.

The agency also emphasizes that this development will be a "prominent part" of what the Boston Redevelopment Authority has planned as 31 million sf of mixed-use development in an area that stretches from Fort Point Channel through Commonwealth Flats. The Core Block will also be a central part of almost seven million sf of mixed-use development space already completed, under construction or pre-permitted in the Commonwealth Flats.

Massport acknowledges that these parcels have "complex and challenging physical characteristics," because part of the property is sliced up by the Central Artery tunnel and the new MBTA Silver Line.