Only three members of the board attended the meeting earlier this month and one member made it clear she would vote it. Hines needs at least three votes in its favor to move forward on its plan to raze the building and replace it with about 400 units.

One of the biggest issues was whether the buildings in future phases would be too tall. Hines, and its architect, RNL design, reached a compromise that redistributed the height of the buildings, but kept the same number of units.

The board now expects to see more detailed architectural details for the first phase and things such the type of building materials that would be used.

One of the votes in favor of the compromise was architect John Anderson, chairman of the group and the recent national president of the American Institute of Architects.

''I personally think this is a very good, very handsome project,'' Anderson tells GlobeSt.com. ''This is a good architect and a good developer -- which is something that does not enter our thoughts when we're making a decision – but it's a bonus if you get them.''