IMAGES: New Government Center will include tallest rental tower in Boston

A new development will provide downtown Boston with a completely redesigned space for both living and working.

A $1.5 billion re-do project centered on demolishing and redeveloping the Government Center Garage has just gotten final approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Boston.com has reported. The site will include space for retail, office, hotel and residential facilities.

A multiphase plan is in place to replace the existing concrete garage with streetscapes designed primarily for pedestrian use, a public plaza and mixed-use building covering two blocks, WHDH stated.

At 480 feet, a luxury apartment tower slated to break ground this spring will be Boston’s tallest rental building, Boston.com reported, adding that the building will contain 486 rental units when it is completed

“We are humbled by the historic opportunity that this project presents,” HYM founding partner and managing director Thomas N. O’Brien was quoted by Boston.com. “This project will reconnect four of Boston’s greatest neighborhoods – the North End, the West End, Beacon Hill and Downtown – that have been divided by this hulking concrete structure for decades.”

Besides the tall residential tower, the development will also include an apartment building on New Sudbury Street, an office building on New Chardon Street and a residential building n Congress Street, WHDH added. When finished, the whole project will offer 812 housing units and 196 hotel rooms along with the office and retail space.