The Waterside Place project received final approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, yesterday.

Construction for the vast block of buildings, proposed for the land and air space between the World Trade Center and the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, is scheduled to begin early next year.

The plan approved yesterday includes two large retail anchor stores and dozens of shops and restaurants on three levels, a 300-room luxury hotel, a 19-story residential condominium building with 200 units, a 2,350-space parking garage, and a visitors center offering exhibits and displays, aimed at convention travelers.

The first office tower on nearby Fan Pier is scheduled to commence construction, this fall.

Down the street, two new hotels have been approved.

Plus, Marriott's Renaissance Hotel is scheduled to open this fall, and Joe Fallon's new Parkside apartment complex is currently filling up its second building.

Big and tall is the order of business, down in the Seaport District.

Source: Waterfront growth accelerates as city OKs South Boston complex - By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., The Boston Globe