Developer files plans for two life-sciences buildings in marine industrial park; says it will pay to move the actual marine companies now on the site

Marcus Partners has filed plans with the BPDA for a two-building, seven-story life-sciences building in the Raymond Flynn Marine Park that will require the relocation of the seafood companies that now use the site, which will have a raised first floor to deal with rising sea levels and which is supposed to play homage to the stacked shipping containers and cranes across the Reserved Channel at the Conley Terminal.

In a filing with the BPDA, the developer - which has another marine-park life-sciences project in the works - says its 720,000-square-foot proposal for the "Parcel X" lot along Northern Avenue and Seafood Way, stretching to Fid Kennedy Avenue would help replace what it says is now a rather dumpy lot:

The Project aims to further activate the northeastern section of the Seaport District neighborhood, demonstrating how an industrial block with deteriorating pedestrian infrastructure and open space can be transformed into an exceptional and exemplary site with beautiful, comfortable, and accessible streetscapes, front doors on all sides to welcome visitors from all directions, and an inclusive, aptly programmed, and sustainable open space core. Details in the public realm will be responsive to its context, drawing influence from and making connections to the adjacent conditions.

Marcus will put up a new 36,000-square foot seafood processing facility across Fid Kennedy for two of the displaced companies.

The project ties in with plans by the BPDA to turn the marine industrial park, which it owns, into a sort of Kendall Square by the Sea, only under the constraint of state regulations that require most of the land to remain at least outfitted for actual sea-related uses, even though demand for such uses has been declining, in part because much of the marine park's jetties and docks need millions of dollars of repairs and upgrades, which the BPDA doesn't want to pay for.

Although in this case, Marcus will put up a new sea-based building, in other cases, the BPDA says developers can put up multi-story buildings in which the first floor is set aside for marine use, with the upper floors set aside for life sciences or offices.

To keep the area from becoming Kendall Square under the Sea, the BPDA has started a fund - into which building owners will put money - to build seawalls, tidal gates and other methods for beating back the tide. In its filing, Marcus says it will do its part with the design of the new buildings:

The proposed design addresses climate change with an elevated ground floor and public realm to protect these spaces from sea level rise and provide pedestrians in the neighborhood with emergency refuge during a storm event. Green infrastructure elements site-wide, such as shade trees and planting areas, will provide ecosystem services and mitigate the effects of extreme heat events and intense rainstorms.

Specifically, the ground floor and building plazas will be three feet above the current ground level. Critical building equipment will be located at least another foot above that. Backup generators will be located on the roof.

Parcel X filings and schedule.