BOSTON—Boston’s latest zoning proposal for downtown Boston would allow towers to be built on the side of Washington Street closest to Boston Common — but only if the building is mostly residential, Boston Business Journal reported.
The new plan, published Wednesday, is a big change from a proposal last spring, BBJ said, adding that plan allowed a high-rise on just one site on a blocks-long stretch of that side of Washington, where Midwood Investment & Development has sought for years to build a 345-foot office tower.
“Under the new plan, high-rises could go along the entirety of the western side of Washington in Downtown Crossing,” BBJ reported. “That includes the block that features The Druker Co.’s Corner Mall and the Orpheum Theatre, one of the sites recently identified by the Downtown Boston Alliance as holding potential for redevelopment.”
However, that’s only if the new development is at least 60% residential, reported BBJ, adding that housing-focused projects in the sky-residential zone, as it is called, could be up to 500 feet tall, though shadow and flight restrictions could cut down that maximum height for a particular property. Other projects would be capped at 155 feet without a special permit.
To read the full BBJ article, please click here.
