Developer files plans for innovation building in marine industrial park, but with a lot less innovation than it had once hoped

You really don't want to admit that there is a need for parking

Well -- perhaps when the 100 + year old buildings were new -- say just after the Great Fire of 1872 --- the Financial District was born in the aftermath*1 when there were no automobiles to speak of -- so then there were only need for some stables -- which existed on Beacon Hill and in the Back Bay, etc.

Cars became part of the Boston landscape circa 1900 and from that time on there has been a need for parking -- initially it was supplied by vacant lots [fires, etc.] then later Boston became a pioneer in providing structured parking -- e.g. The Motor Mart Garage built in 1926 in the Bay Village / South End*2

Subsequent to the Depression and WWII Boston built a bunch of city owned parking garages because of the lack of adequate parking downtown and in the other commercial districts of the city.

During the Urban Renewal era -- the wholesale destruction of blocks of the city led to massive parking structures such as the Government Center Garage

Later a whole bunch of private developments either included a parking garage underneath or as an accessory structure [e.g. first reconstruction of North Station and the New Boston Garden, Post Office Square Garage, John Hancock Garage, Prudential Garage, etc.,] etc., etc.

Nothing like that happened in the then moribund and nearly abandoned Seaport District until the construction of the Garage accompanying the Fidelity-developed Seaport Hotel / Office Complex*3

The rest of the seaport was mostly many many acres of open parking lots for nearly two decades -- many of these are going away now

There are still a need for most of that parking and perhaps more.

Now you may have some argument to make in terms of new residential structures needing less parking than with which most currently have been provided. But for office and R&D especially the latter -- give it a rest.

Here are a few reasons:

1. People work long and irregular hours -- often well past the availability of transit
2. Some people will commute to work from places not provided with transit access
3. Some of the people who come to visit literally do business from their car
4. of course there are people for whom a long hike to / from anything is a painful experience

PS: while the Fin Dist is getting more R&D type -- most of it is still mostly offices with concomitantly considerably less need for parking [because of the above reasons]

*1
from
https://www.nafi.org/blog/november-9-1872/

National Association of Fire Investigators
NAFI Blog

FIre Investigation Science
Great Boston Fire of 1872 – November 9, 1872

The fire also helped fuel Boston’s growth. The business community saw the burned area as an opportunity to expand its presence downtown. The city’s financial district was established where the fire had hit hardest and Boston soon became a key business center of the late 19th-century United States.

*2
Motor Mart Garage from the Boston Preservation Alliance site
https://www.bostonpreservation.org/advocacy-project/motor-mart-garage

MOTOR MART GARAGE
BAY VILLAGE
UNDER REVIEW BY CITY
ACTIVELY ENGAGED

At the time of its construction in 1926, the Motor Mart Garage was the largest automobile garage in the world. Advertised as "more than a place to park your car," the Motor Mart housed auto-related services including washing and various repairs. The garage reflects the prevalence of transportation activity at Park Square in the early 20th century, especially bus and automobile. It is a major character-defining feature of Park Square, designed in a stripped classicism with Art Deco style details. The garage abuts and is adjacent to several historic resources including the Park Plaza Hotel (built as the Statler Hotel in 1925-27), the Armory of First Corps Cadets building and the Paine Furniture Building, both local Landmarks, and the Bay Village Historic District. It is one block from the historic Public Garden.

*3
from Wiki article

In 1998, Fidelity Investments and The Drew Company opened the Seaport Boston Hotel alongside the World Trade Center.

Facilities and Features
The property has 428 guest rooms and extensive facilities for conferences, meetings and exhibitions with over 180,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The hotel has four restaurants and a health and fitness center, including a swimming pool. Seaport has a 2,300 space underground parking garage

thing a developer can do to increase added value to property. For a 10’x20’ parking spot the cost to build is negligible but can add $100k to a unit. I would not list property for sale if it had no parking.