Another massive project proposed for the Reserved Channel in South Boston, this time off West 1st Street

The owner of industrial buildings along West 1st Street and Pappas Way has teamed up with a Toronto developer on a proposal for an eight-acre, seven-building development that would include "a variety of commercial and employment-based opportunities" as well as some new housing - in a complex that would be nearly as large as the one now underway to replace the old Edison plant a few blocks away.

In a letter of intent filed with the BPDA, Pappas Enterprises, Inc., which owns land along the street and leases even more from Massport, says it and Oxford Properties Group of Toronto will file detailed plans for the proposed project within the next few months.

When completed, the new buildings, which would replace the existing structures and parking lots, would have a total of 1.7 million square feet of space - only slightly smaller than the final Edison replacement.

Although most of the project would sit on land owned by Massport - roughly 6 acres - which means the city would normally have no say over what happens to it, the companies say they will include the Massport parts of the complex in their "project notification form" for review by the city.

Because of the size of the project, the companies can also filed for a "planned development area" designation, which would let them toss out whatever zoning now exists for the land and negotiate what would effectively be new zoning with the BPDA.

Their letter offers a few hints of what they will include in their filing, which they say will be based on their own planning and more than 50 neighborhood meetings since 2019::

The Project envisions improved and expanded public sidewalks along its sections of First Street which borders the residential area, with thoughtfully designed open spaces,high quality landscaping, and new building heights and massing that respect and connect with the adjacent South Boston residential neighborhood.Proposed building uses would include a variety of commercial and employment-based opportunities, with a portion of residential housing that responds to the needs of the neighborhood. Visioning for ground floor uses could include a neighborhood grocery store, new fitness, and wellness options for the neighborhood and locallyowned eateries, with a building massing and heights calibrated to respect the existing structures along First Street and the residential section of South Boston, and with increasing building heights moving north, away from West First Street.

They add they will provide "a conceptual framework" to help the city deal with traffic and climate-change issues related to the large project along the water - and for any future changes to the remaining 34 acres of industrial land Pappas will still own next to the new development.

Reserved Channel filings and meeting schedule.