After a four-year planning process, Oxford Properties and Pappas Enterprises Inc. have formally filed a letter of intent for a major mixed-use development along the Reserved Channel in South Boston.

The 1.7M SF, seven-building development would span 8 acres along West First Street and Pappas Way in the 42-acre Pappas Commerce Center business park, according to the letter of intent. The joint venture, OxP Property, engaged in over 50 public meetings and five community-centered charettes before formally announcing the project.

"Beginning in 2019, OxP began to reach out to local residents and property owners, neighborhood leadership, and the South Boston community, for the purpose of introducing them to the new joint venture and seeking their early input and guidance on long-term visioning and potential future master planning of the Project Site and the OxP Property," the letter of intent says.

Oxford declined to provide additional comment on the proposal.

The property, just blocks from the booming Seaport district, is home to nine low-rise industrial and commercial buildings and parking lots. The proposed development would total 1.1M SF on 6 acres along West First Street and 600K SF along Pappas Way.

The joint venture hasn't detailed the breakdown of specific uses in the project, but it wrote that the buildings would be used for "a variety of commercial and employment-based opportunities." The ground-floor retail in the buildings is envisioned to have a variety of options, including grocery stores, fitness and wellness options, and locally owned restaurants.

The site, part of which is held through a ground lease with MassPort, will require the creation of a Planned Development Area Development Plan through Article 80C of the zoning code, along with a Large Project Review approval under Article 80B.

Oxford has been active in the market, with another project in the city's Leather District receiving approval by the BPDA in November. Pappas Enterprises has deep ties to the neighborhood spanning the past five decades.