Winthrop Square tower wins key approval, likely a go

The Boston Planning & Development Agency on May 17 approved the development of the former Winthrop Square Garage at 240 Devonshire Street in the Financial District into a 690-foot tower of condos and offices.

The building will be one of the tallest new ones constructed in Boston since at least the mid-1970s, and the BPDA’s approval caps nearly two years of back and forth on its height and scope.

It was once slated to stretch to 775 feet, making it the second-tallest building in Boston—in New England—behind 200 Clarendon. As it looks now, the Winthrop Square tower will still rank among the 10 tallest in the city and the larger region.

But! The BPDA wants developer Millennium Partners to reexamine the 1.6 million-square-foot tower’s size and density before it can get building permits. Whether that reexamination leads to any (other) changes remains to be seen, though.

Right now, the BPDA signoff appears to be the tower’s last major hurdle to development.

• Developer wins approval for its Winthrop Square tower [Globe]
• Is One Dalton the last 700-foot tower in Boston for a generation? [Curbed Boston]