After years of fits and starts at the corner of Bromfield and Washington in Downtown Crossing, Midwood Investment & Development is tossing out its office tower playbook and pitching housing instead, with a plan for roughly 760 apartments. The quiet pivot signals how quickly downtown priorities are shifting toward residential projects as city zoning and incentives increasingly favor large-scale housing over new office space.
According to the Boston Business Journal, Midwood's latest concept swaps an office-heavy program for about 760 units and is explicitly crafted around recent changes to downtown zoning. The outlet reports that the developer is repositioning the site to tap into rules that tilt key parts of the downtown core toward residential use.
Zoning changes make housing a clearer bet
The Boston Planning & Development Agency's Plan: Downtown and its updated zoning text have opened new doors for residential construction in select downtown subdistricts, which developers say help the numbers pencil out. As detailed by the Boston Planning & Development Agency, the framework is designed to encourage more housing while still safeguarding historic streetscapes and the pedestrian-friendly feel of the area.
A corner with a long history of big plans
The Bromfield and Washington corner has been the subject of outsized dreams for nearly two decades. The Boston Preservation Alliance traces Midwood's parcel assembly there and notes proposals dating back to 2008, while The Boston Globe reported in 2016 that the developer once floated a 59-story design that would have rivaled the Millennium Tower.
Neighbors and preservationists push back
Local shop owners and preservation advocates have long argued that mega-projects could overwhelm the Ladder Blocks' narrow streets and historic storefronts. Earlier rounds of planning for the site generated packed public meetings and loud criticism from neighborhood groups. Universal Hub has documented multiple hearings and objections to supersized towers on the property.
What comes next
If Midwood formally files this new housing proposal, it will head into the Boston Planning & Development Agency's public review pipeline, likely as an Article 80 project that brings community meetings, design critiques, and a staff recommendation before any BPDA board vote. There is no clear timeline yet, and while recent zoning tweaks could shave off some entitlement headaches, neighborhood concerns and design debates are almost guaranteed to stretch things out. The Boston Planning & Development Agency lays out the review steps and design guidelines that will shape whatever Midwood puts on the table next.
