South Boston power station could become large mixed-use project over 10 to 15 years

The owners of the generating station that towers over South Boston has started the formal process of turning the site into a development with 2.1 million square feet of residential, commercial, office, restaurant and hotel space.

In a "letter of intent" filed this week with the BPDA, developers Hilco Global and Redgate Capital Partners say they would retain part of the current massive structure on the 15-acre site at Summer and L streets, notably the "remarkable turbine halls," but also tear down much of it to create a development that would be connected to local streets. The current walls and fences would come down.

The new project would include space for an "arts and industry" district for artists, artisans and maker startups, as well as an acre of open space along the Reserve Channel.

They estimate the work will take 10 to 15 years.

176 Summer St. letter of intent (169k PDF).