The contentious efforts to build multifamily at the South Shore Plaza mall took a step forward this week as the Braintree Town Council approved a zoning overlay district.

The approval Tuesday night would allow multifamily as one of the district's uses, opening the door for ZOM Living to pursue its $140M, 325-unit apartment complex next to the mall.

The new zoning overlay district is expected to go before the town Planning Board for special permit approval, Banker & Tradesman reported.

Orlando, Florida-based ZOM has been pursuing the multifamily project since the spring of 2022 and has faced major obstacles.

The developer initially proposed a two-building, 495-unit complex for older adults. But as public hearings carried on, the development received community pushback that ultimately led to ZOM withdrawing the project in August 2023.

However, ZOM persisted and came back with a new, smaller plan in June that won Planning Board approval, The Boston Globe reported.

The planned development area will also include a new retail building that South Shore Plaza owner Simon Property Group will find a tenant to fill, ZOM Living Managing Director Jim Dunlop said during the presentation.

"If people are not spending money and creating new real estate growth in Braintree, our financial base isn't growing neither," Frank Marinelli, a Braintree land use attorney representing ZOM, said at the town council meeting. "The live-work model is alive and thriving in Massachusetts. It's time for Braintree to use its existing retail stock for something more productive."

ZOM is also seeking to develop a 530-unit multifamily project in Westford.