With its 1,000-acre district, the waterfront is going to be one of the city's largest developments and is seen by many here as the next great frontier for commercial and residential construction. Several high-profile projects are in various stages of development, including Stephen Karp's Pier 4, Fort Point Channel, which is being developed by Beacon Capital, and Nicholas Pritzker's Fan Pier project.

Representatives of Massachusetts Port Authority, which manages Logan Airport, insist that the noise, which could have a potentially larger impact on the proposed residential developments here, will remain the same with this proposed runway. "Currently, the waterfront area is at 65," Jose Juves, spokesperson for MassPort, tells GlobeSt.com. Sixty five decibels is the FAA's highest noise category. If noise goes above that level in a residential area, the administration offers to pay for homeowners to soundproof their homes. The map released by the FAA shows that the South Boston area hits 65 decibels with the new runway.

But proximity to the airport is exactly what developers want, insists Juves. "What we've heard from developers is they want this area because it's so close to the airport. It is those people traveling from Logan Airport who are filling up the spaces in the waterfront development. For residents, its convenient too." Juves also notes that property values in East Boston and South Boston have gone up with the proposed development of the waterfront. MassPort owns land on the waterfront that it has developed into the Seaport Hotel.