I don't know that there was ever any rendering/plan for the old proposal, but here it the new one:
http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/fac78f72-a59d-4b40-99a8-1d2cb9577bde
Maybe I've had too much sencha today, but the cover illustration on this PNF seems to have snow banks drawn in along the sidewalks on the far side of Tremont, whereas the Common in the foreground is all leafed out in summer foliage. Am I seeing this? [it is a triviality, I know, slow day here...]
I'm fine with the height of this iteration. It seems to fit well in its context. I generally share the preference for height and density that seems the default mood here at aB, but I do not feel that taller and taller is always better, and everywhere, no matter what. I'm not accusing anyone on this thread of having said that: I'm stating that for me, some sites cry out for some restraint, at a height which is of course wide open for dispute.
So, my two cents: Less height than this iteration would have been dumb. A few more floors than this would have been fine here, too. Another ten would have seemed a bit too spindly for its place along the Common edge, and another twenty would have veered into silly territory. I think the prior iteration was an additional 12 floors? I can't find a rendering upthread, so I'm not going on an actual drawing, just mentally extrapolating from the current one. I just don't see the 12-floor reduction as a loss, and it might be some modest gain (purely on the height issue alone).
Aside from height, the aesthetics otherwise look pretty blah, a missed opportunity. Plenty of that going around. Shame to see it happen right along the Common.