Council leader Jenny Laing said the approval of the Marischal Square plans showed the city was “open for business”.
The Labour councillor predicted the £107million office, hotel and retail scheme could prove to be a “catalyst” for further development elsewhere in the east end of the city centre.
Mrs Laing said: “I am pleased that the council has made the decision to proceed with this development because I think it is very important for the city moving forward.
“It is about regeneration, it is about creating a vitality and sustainable development.
“I think it sends out a clear message that we are open for business and we are not afraid to have major development in the city centre. It will act as a catalyst for a number of different buildings in the east end of the city centre.”
SNP group leader Callum McCaig said: “I think this has been rushed through and I have major concerns about the decoupling of the civic square proposals from the planning application.
“The entire thing was always predicated on that area being pedestrianised, and the cynical part of me wonders if that part of this is just a way of hoodwinking the public and getting a major development on this site.”
Liberal Democrat Jennifer Stewart said: “I am very disappointed. Several administration councillors were actually talking about capital receipts and financial outcome, and that shouldn’t have come into the planning considerations.
“That worries me. My own view is that it will be a blot on the landscape.”
Steve Turner, Muse Developments’ regional director for Scotland, said: “It is a great culmination to all our efforts for the last year-and-a-half.”
Mr Turner said the issue of pedestrianisation of Broad Street was one for the council to decide on, but insisted that Muse did want to see it happen.
He added that work on the development would start in February next year, with completion due in February 2017.
“We have had a strong level of interest, especially from the bar and restaurant side,” he said.
“We are a regeneration-based developer, and with a development of this quality, you will see a ripple effect on other surrounding buildings at this end of the city centre.”
Dustin Macdonald, chairman of Aberdeen City Centre Community Council, said: “This is disappointing for our city.
“We cannot stress enough that people will not visit the city centre to see offices and the level of retail space is not sufficient enough to draw large numbers.”