Thirty years ago, John Drew saw something few others saw in Boston: the potential for a booming Seaport District.
In the 1980s, the area was mostly a swath of surface parking lots, abandoned rail lines and often derelict buildings that time seemed to have passed by over the years. But Drew and his partner, Fidelity Investments, saw something different and proceeded to develop the World Trade Center, the Seaport Hotel, the Seaport East and West buildings and other projects, all well before the recent building boom in the area…