In the now gentrified world of the South End, it is difficult to realize that Tent City came into being through the efforts of advocates of affordable housing who protested the proposal for a parking garage on the site. Although it took two decades of lobbying and fundraising, the Tent City Corporation was instrumental in the building of this mixed-income development. Composed of various housing options, an eight-story apartment house and town houses are grouped around an interior landscaped court. Although the 269 units occupy a large area, variety in massing, texture, and color relates the complex to its urban environment—from the red brick row houses of the South End to the bland facades of Copley Place (
BB40
). A parking garage, now serving both residents and the public, was built beneath the complex.