Image courtesy of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture LLP and Arrowstreet Inc.

Neighborhood residents and real estate executives sparred over the demand for office space in Boston as a developer renewed its push for approval of a 24-story tower at Downtown Crossing.

Skeptics say the Midwood Investment and Development’s proposed 427,000-square-foot office tower at 11-21 Bromfield St. clashes with the MBTA’s latest service meltdowns and the trend toward hybrid work.

In a presentation to a Boston Planning & Development Agency advisory group Monday, the development team stressed the project’s potential as an economic catalyst to revive downtown activity and compensate for lost foot traffic during the hybrid work era.

The potential 1,700 office workers who would occupy the leased tower could boost retail spending by $6 million, Midwood estimated in a presentation Monday.

Bryan Montgomery, a researcher with JLL, said recent trends in office leasing point toward the Bromfield Street having no trouble attracting tenants.

New office buildings scheduled to open in 2023 and 2024 in Boston are preleased at nearly 86 percent, Montgomery noted.

But some residents said housing would deliver more 24-hour benefits to the neighborhood and questioned whether the tower would drain activity away from older office buildings in the neighborhood.

One speaker called for Midwood to return to its original proposal from 2015 for multifamily housing.

“I don’t know how you expect people to get to these offices if the MBTA is not functioning,” resident Kate Collins said.

The impact advisory group reviews details of the proposal before it’s brought before the BPDA board of directors for final approval. Several speakers urged the BPDA to delay scheduling a vote until the PLAN: Downtown study is completed. The project also is opposed by the Boston Preservation Alliance and Revolutionary Spaces, which operates local historic sites.

The site is located in a section west of Washington Street proposed for 400-foot building heights by the planning study, and density bonuses for projects that deliver additional community benefits.

Rev. Thomas Conway, executive director of the St. Anthony Shrine on Arch Street, said the project is important for restoring economic activity and foot traffic to Downtown Crossing.

And Bill Grogan, president of the Archdiocese’s Planning Office of Urban Affairs, urged approval of the project. Midwood has designated a planned 126-unit mixed-income project by POUA at 41 LaGrange St. as recipient of its housing linkage funds.