Tent City

Boston, Massachusetts

The name "Tent City" may be an unusual title for a thriving, mixed-use, mixed-income community in the heart of a city, but that's exactly what the folks at Goody Clancy call this development. Named after a famous 1968 sit-in in Boston, Tent City harkens back to a neighborhood in protest. Longtime residents of the area were forced out by government redevelopment projects, which ended up leaving the current site of this project vacant for 20 years. By working with various neighborhood groups, Tent City Corporation successfully redeveloped the property to now house 1,200 residents, a daycare, a community space, and retail space while only requiring a 700-car subterranean parking garage which also serves tourists in nearby Copley Place. According to Goody Clancy, "One-quarter of the units are subsidized for low-income families, one-half for moderate, and one-quarter are rented at market rates."

Tent City Boston cityscape
Tent City defines its space. Source: Goody Clancy.
Top Photo: Tent City blends right into its urban surroundings. Source: Goody Clancy.

Similar Projects


Downtown Westminster

Westminster, Colorado

A large number of malls are dying nationwide—but in most cases, a city or town just lets a developer or investor determine the fate of a property, if there is a market for reusing the site.


Currie

Calgary, Canada

Nicknamed “Cowtown,” the city of Calgary historically served as the center of Canada’s cattle and meatpacking industries.


Highlands Garden Village #thisisCNU

Denver, Colorado

For a century, the 27-acre Elitch Gardens amusement park was an exciting destination for Denver, CO—until the facility moved in the 1990s.