The MBTA board approved a new proposal for a large development project near the Riverside station in Newton, pushing forward construction of hundreds of new transit-accessible housing units.

“After a lot of discussion, a lot of work on both sides, we have arrived at this: The developer’s proposing two phases, with the first phase being residential only, primarily on their site, partly on our site,” said MBTA Chief Real Estate Officer Richard Henderson, presenting the development proposal at a board meeting Thursday. “About 545 units, 20 to 25% of which will be affordable.”

Phase one of the development, proposed by Mark Development, also includes 650 MBTA parking spaces, about 530 on the surface lot and another 120 in a garage. The scaled back proposal allows the company the reserved right to build further development in the area in a phase two.

The MBTA board approved the project unanimously Thursday.

The lot currently houses the shuttered Indigo Hotel and 950 MBTA parking spaces.

Mark Development’s initial proposal for the lot bordering the Green Line station included about a million square feet of housing, retail spaces and life sciences buildings, including 550 units of housing and 1,970 parking spaces.

“Back in March of 2023 the developer came to the board asking for relief based on economic conditions of higher interest rates and a slowdown in life science development that really made the proposed project unattainable for them,” said Henderson.

The MBTA worked with the developer to include housing and parking goals in a new plan, Henderson said. They also strategized to ensure “capacity in the site plan to potentially build additional parking and future demand increases, and also to provide flexibility and project savings for the rebuilding of the station that we anticipate to happen somewhere around 2034,” he added.

Phase two, if the company chose to pursue it, would include office and lab space and around 100 new housing units. The MBTA would retain 650 parking spaces.

For phase one, the company faces a permitting deadline in 2026 and must complete the surface parking construction by fall 2027. The developer will lose their rights to pursue phase two if garage construction isn’t completed by March 31, 2034.

The board also discussed the rollout of the income-eligible reduced fare program, which will launch fully on Sept. 4. The program discounts MBTA fares 50% for riders who are between 18 and 64 years old, and are low income.

The program had a “soft launch” on Aug. 20, said Steven Povich, the Senior Director of Fare Policy and Analytics.

The T invited a “few thousand riders at a time from the Youth Pass program” to apply online, Povich said, and has already seen 150 enrolled riders in the first two days.

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Following the fully launch on Sept. 4, the T will have five in-person locations where riders can apply for the program in addition to the online application. The program will eventually have 36 locations all over eastern Massachusetts where riders can apply, Povich said.

More information on the income-eligible fares qualifications and how to apply are available on mbta.com/fares/reduced/income-eligible.