Photo courtesy of Boston Planning Department
The first development proposals under Boston’s new Skyline zoning include a pair of apartment towers totaling 918 units in Downtown Crossing.
Midwood Investment and Development will seek approval for an 800,000-square-foot tower at the corner of Washington and Bromfield streets, and another 17-story, 97,000-square-foot apartment building at 45 Bromfield St.
The larger building, proposed for 11-21 Bromfield St., would be roughly the size of the One Boston Place office tower.
Approved last fall, the new Skyline zoning increased maximum building heights in sections of Downtown Crossing and the Financial District, and encourages developments with at least 60 percent residential use. The changes were designed to spur redevelopment and adaptive reuse of vacant office properties.
New York-based Midwood has unsuccessfully sought approval for both residential and office projects on the 11-21 Bromfield St. site since 2008.
The most recent proposal, submitted in 2020, was a 23-story, 417,000-square-foot office tower. The project generated opposition from preservationists and a downtown residents’ association and support from local businesses, but never proceeded to the Boston Planning & Development Agency board for a vote.
A June 17 notification letter from Midwood CEO John Usdan does not state the larger building’s height, but said the proposal is “consistent with the Downtown Plan.” The site is located in a section of Downtown Crossing allowing 400-foot maximum building heights, .
The building would include 760 apartments, 25,000 square feet of ground floor retail and 100 parking spaces. To comply with Boston’s inclusionary development policy, it would include 152 income-restricted apartments.
The smaller 97,000-square-foot tower would include 158 apartments and 3,500 square feet of retail space on a 6,069-square-foot site at 45 Bromfield St. No parking is proposed.
The project’s height, setbacks and lot coverage all comply with the new downtown zoning, according to a notification letter submitted to Boston Chief of Planning Kairos Shen.
At least one other property is being positioned for a major redevelopment spurred by the rezoning.
Northland Investment Corp. is listing its 1.1-acre 600 Washington St. property, containing a vacant office building, through CBRE for a potential 840,000-square-foot redevelopment.
Other prime sites ripe for redevelopment under the rezoning include The Druker Company’s Corner Mall and The Abbey Group’s Lafayette City Center.
A previous proposal for an office Tower at 11-21 Bromfield St.. mage courtesy of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture and Arrowstreet
