Alert
Downtown Boston Reimagined: New Skyline Districts Now in Effect
December 10, 2025
Authors
Adam R. Hundley
Director, Boston
ahundley@goulstonstorrs.com+1 617 574 3540
Matthew J. Kiefer
Of Counsel, Boston
mkiefer@goulstonstorrs.com+1 617 574 6597
David Linhart
Director, Boston
dlinhart@goulstonstorrs.com+1 617 574 4049Related Expertise
After multiple rounds of public comment and revisions that spanned nearly a year and a half, the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) Board and the Boston Zoning Commission have approved new zoning for downtown Boston that is now in effect.
The new zoning covers virtually all of downtown from Boston Harbor to Boston Common, and from (but not including) Chinatown to (but not including) Government Center. It creates two "Skyline Districts" (SKY and SKY-LOW) and a historic overlay district (SKY-LOW-DT). The aim of the new zoning is to prioritize residential and mixed-use development while strengthening historic preservation and limiting height near sensitive areas.
Key features of the new zoning amendment include:
1. Height and Density
- The SKY subdistrict, which covers most of downtown other than the Ladder District, allows building heights up to the limits of state shadow laws and FAA height restrictions, subject to stricter limitations applicable to sites with frontage on Washington Street (including a 200-foot height limitation for any project with less than 60% of its gross floor area (“GFA”) devoted to residential use).
- In the SKY-LOW subdistrict, which covers the Ladder District and areas adjacent to the Common and Public Garden and an area including India Street and Broad Street, building heights are limited to 155 feet, subject to state shadow and FAA height restrictions.
- The SKY-LOW-DT overlay district, added late in the process, encompasses the entire SKY-LOW subdistrict and imposes the same limitations on building height. The SKY-LOW subdistrict may in the future be extended to areas outside of the SKY-LOW-DT overlay district.
- There are no limitations on floor area ratio; building density is regulated instead by maximum building lot coverage, building stepback, and other form-based requirements.
2. Certain Dimensional Requirements Determined Through Large Project Review
- Several form-based requirements applicable in the SKY and SKY-LOW/SKY-LOW-DT subdistricts may be determined through Large Project Review, including stepback height, maximum length of building façade, location of ground floor outdoor amenity space, and minimum side and rear yard setbacks.
3. Limitations on Planned Development Areas (“PDAs”)
- In the SKY subdistrict, new PDAs are prohibited, and any proposed amendment to an existing PDA cannot increase the maximum allowed building height by more than 15 feet.
- In the SKY-LOW-DT overlay district, PDAs are only allowed for sites that include a Boston Landmark and devote at least 60% of their GFA to residential use.
4. Use Limitations
- In contrast to pre-existing zoning, most residential uses are allowed as-of-right.
- Office use of 250,000 square feet of GFA or greater is a conditional use, requiring a conditional use permit from the Zoning Board of Appeal. This provision is scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2030, after which office use may become an allowed use without limit as to size, subject to evaluation of this sunset by the Zoning Commission.
- Hotel use of 50,000 square feet of GFA or greater also is conditional.
For questions about the new Skyline Districts in Downtown Boston, please contact Adam Hundley, Matthew Kiefer, or David Linhart, or your usual Goulston & Storrs attorney.
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