Hynes details waterfront plan; mayor is lukewarm

Developer John B. Hynes III intends to fill the portion of the South Boston Waterfront he owns with blocks of six- to eight-story residential buildings and mid-rise commercial buildings, dotted with parks, shopping opportunities, and possibly a private school.

Hynes, who along with the investment firm Morgan Stanley purchased about 23 acres formerly owned by developer Frank H. McCourt Jr. , also proposed installing a street that would run from Seaport Boulevard uphill to Summer Street.

Hynes said the site would be a third each residential, hotel/retail , and offices . He plans a total of 6.5 million to 7.5 million square feet of development -- compared to about 3 million across the street at Fan Pier. Hynes outlined his plans in a presentation yesterday before a meeting of real estate executives in Boston.

Right now, the former McCourt land is used mostly for parking cars. It is one of three huge development parcels on the waterfront that, after decades of unrequited promise, is finally seeing activity.

Hynes cautioned that he has not yet submitted his plans to Boston city officials, which would be the first official step in a long permitting process.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino yesterday gave a somewhat lukewarm response to the development concepts outlined by Hynes, raising an objection to the uses planned there.

"We can't just have office, hotels, and condos," Menino said. "It's got to help create a new economy down there."

Menino himself this week stunned Boston by proposing to move City Hall to 13 acres that the city owns on the waterfront and selling off the old building and 9-acre City Hall Plaza.

Meanwhile, Hynes has his hands full . He is partners with Vornado Realty Trust in the redevelopment of the Filene's department store block at Downtown Crossing, which is expected to get its approvals from the city early next year. And he is partners in the development of a $25 billion from-the-ground-up city of about 10 million square feet in Incheon, South Korea.

Hynes would not elaborate on his plans for the waterfront. The property would have about 30 percent green space, Hynes said, and would include mid-rise towers up to 275 feet high.

Thomas C. Palmer Jr. can be reached at tpalmer@globe.com.