Downtown Boston will soon see construction begin on the Henry Gustavus Dorr Building, with a developer having received approval to place 15 housing units above a Mediterranean grill and shoe repair shop.

This is the first application to receive a greenlight from the Boston Planning & Development Agency under a pilot program aimed at converting vacant office space into residential use, primarily in and around downtown.

Work is slated to commence at the 1878 brick-and-sandstone mercantile building this spring. The developer, Boston Pinnacle Properties, will be converting underutilized office space into 15 apartments — 10 studios and 5 one-bedrooms — across five floors above Mediterranean Grill Boston and Dave’s Instant Shoe Repair at 281 Franklin St., in the Financial District.

“We are very excited about this program and what this building represents,” property owner Adam Burns told the BPDA board before receiving unanimous approval Thursday. “We do have a largely historic building here so we are doing our best not to touch of the exterior and doing so in respect of the architectural significance of the facade.”

Three of the units would be income restricted, meeting a key requirement in the program that at least 17% of units match what officials consider “inclusionary zoning.”

The total scope of the work is expected to cost nearly $1.6 million, attorney George Morancy wrote in the application, adding the project is “fully compliant with the requirements of the Boston Zoning Code.”

In total, the BPDA has received four applications since October that would create 170 housing units by converting eight high vacancy Class B and C office buildings, according to officials. Candidates range from small local property owners to larger real estate brokers and developers, they said.

The largest project seeks 98 residential units out of three interconnected office buildings on Devonshire and Washington streets. The two others are calling for 24 units at 2 and 5 Longfellow Place and 33 units at 1 and 10 Emerson Place.

Applicants must meet inclusionary zoning requirements, green energy standards and start construction by October 2025. Applications are open until June.

“I am just so excited for this,” BPDA Board Chairwoman Priscilla Rojas told Burns. “This is just a really great pilot so thanks for answering this call for action.”

The initiative, a key priority of the Wu administration, will offer a 75%, 29-year tax abatement to building owners who jump on the chance to convert. The discount is intended to offset the high cost associated with converting office space, which is designed and engineered differently, to residential uses.

Post-pandemic vacancies downtown are running about 20%, according to a study released in the fall of 2022, and the tax break “could provide a strong incentive to encourage conversion,” officials have said.

Projects will be facilitated by a public-private partnership between the city, the BPDA and the project proponent and would result in a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement for the property going ahead.

“This is very interesting. This is new to us and to the Boston area. We want to see you succeed and hope other people think about this as an alternative,” BPDA board member Raheem Shepard told Burns.