A developer is moving forward with the proposed redevelopment of a 5-acre site in South Boston’s Andrew Square into a 658,000-square-foot residential complex.

The project at 235 Old Colony Ave. has been in the works for approximately four years, during which developer David Pogorelc of Boston-based Core Investments LLC has held numerous meetings with neighborhood residents as he assembled ownership of the parcels.

The project also would include 77,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, including a grocery store and restaurants, according to a letter of intent sent last week to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

A laundry, printing press and transmission shop formerly occupied the site. The remaining tenant, a paint store, will occupy part of the new retail space, according to the filing by attorney Joseph Hanley of McDermott, Quilty & Miller LLP in Boston.

A mix of condos and apartments would be built in eight buildings covering six blocks, with approximately 1.4 acres retained for open space. The project would be built under a planned development area master plan, requiring relief from the city’s zoning code. It will be subject to the city’s large project review process for developments larger than 50,000 square feet.