In a marathon session Thursday, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) approved five projects totaling more than $879 million in private investment that will create 2,505 new construction jobs.

Projects okayed for construction are:

• New Balance’s $500 million, 14-acre, mixed-use project on Guest Street in Allston/Brighton. The project, called New Brighton Landing, will total 1.45 million square feet, and include office space, a sports complex, a commuter rail station, retail, restaurants and open space.

"This $500 million development will be a wonderful addition to the Brighton neighborhood and will add brand new recreation space for public use," Mayor Thomas Menino said in a statement: "I salute New Balance as a major local employer and I applaud its efforts to include the public in the new complex."

The project includes a new world headquarters for New Balance, a sports complex, up to two office buildings totaling 350,000 square feet to 500,000 square feet, and 15,000 square feet to 23,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space above a 750-space parking garage. The sports facility will include a track and field complex, hockey arena, venues for basketball and tennis, and a fitness center. The company will pay to design, permit and construct a new commuter rail station and create 5.3 acres of open space. The project is expected to create 400 full-time construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs.

• A 322-unit, $150 million residential complex, with 15,000 square feet of ground floor retail at 1282 Boylston St. The development by the Abbey Group will feature a mix of studios, one, two and three bedrooms, including 36 affordable units. The development will also have a three-story underground garage for 295 vehicles. Construction is set to start next spring. The developer won approval in August 2011 for an office and residential building at the site, but changed the use to all residential.

• A new hotel and residences at 275 Albany St. in the South End. The $165 million project will include two towers connected by a three-story parking garage. A 19-story residential tower will front onto Traveler Street and house up to 220 rentals made up of studios and one and two bedrooms.  A second tower will house an 11-story hotel that will have up to 325 micro-style rooms.  The project also includes 2,011 square feet of retail and 165 parking spaces. The developer, Normandy Real Estate Partners, said construction is expected to take two years. The project was previously approved with two hotel towers, but was changed to a hotel and residences.

• The $52 million rehabilitation of 35 Northampton St. and 860 Harrison Ave. in the South End/Lower Roxbury. The buildings are owned by the Boston Public health Commission. The 29-story, residential tower at 35 Northampton St. will be rehabilitated, and a 2,700-square-foot, shared lobby and walkway connecting 35 Northampton St. with 860 Harrison Ave. will be constructed. Office space in the 12-story, 860 Harrison Ave. building will be converted into 11 handicapped-accessible residential units. The two buildings will provide a total of 245 affordable residential units.

• Cadigan Hall, Boston College High School’s new, $12 million educational and athletic facility. The 28,000-square-foot expansion at 150 Morrissey Boulevard will be connected to the existing private high school campus by a breezeway.