Proposed tower at Prudential Center scaled back

The owner of the Prudential Center is reducing the size of a proposed office tower and residential building for the Back Bay site, to try to placate neighbors who said the height of the buildings would create problems with wind and sunlight. Boston Properties LLC said it would cut the height of its tower at 888 Boylston St. by two floors, to 17 stories, a reduction of 23 feet. The firm is also proposing to trim three stories off Exeter Residences, dropping the building to 27 stories from an earlier plan that called for 30.

The changes were outlined yesterday in new plans Boston Properties filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which must sign off on the new design. The building at 888 Boylston, to be built in front of the Prudential Tower, will be the final office building in the Prudential Center complex.

Some neighborhood activists were underwhelmed by Boston Properties' concessions, saying the towers are still much taller than initially envisioned in a master plan for the property.

"It's not a big change, but it's certainly in the right direction," said Elliott Laffer, vice chairman of PruPac, a city-appointed citizens' advisory group for the Prudential Center development.

He said a master plan devised for the property in the late 1980s calls for a 155-foot office tower at the site. The new proposal is 242 feet, still about 90 feet higher than the initial recommendation.

Exeter Residences, a 188-unit apartment building, would be 311 feet tall under the revised proposal, and would be just around the corner from the 14-story Mandarin Oriental, a luxury hotel, residential, and retail complex scheduled to open this fall. Laffer said the Mandarin appears taller than some residents had expected and has fueled concerns about bringing another tower to the area.

The facade of the Exeter building has been redesigned to include a repetitive window pattern, intended to make it appear more consistent with a residential structure, according to the filing with the city. The northern corner has been rounded to control wind gusts across the property.

The 888 Boylston tower includes ground-floor retail shops as well as upgrades to the Boylston Street plaza, which will include trees and other plants, fountains, and decorative lighting. "The new plaza . . . will be a signature element that will fill the streetscape with life and vitality, and will be a public space the City of Boston will be proud of," said Bryan Koop, a senior vice president for Boston Properties.

Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.