BRA approves new Columbia Point building that Olympics organizers would want to tear down for athlete housing

The BRA today approved a $23-million proposal by the Boston Teachers Union to replace its current headquarters next to the old Bayside Expo Center with a more modern structure and a parking garage.

In its initial proposal for an Olympic village, Boston 2024 proposed taking the land, along with neighboring offices and hotel, for construction of towers to house athletes - some of which would later be turned over to UMass Boston for dormitories.

The International Olympic Committee will decide in 2017 whether Boston gets the Olympics.