Educator, politician, activist and long-time South End resident Mel King died last month.  He is possibly best known for getting Mayor Flynn to approve an affordable 369-unit apartment building on Dartmouth Street (next to now Copley Place) in the 1980’s.  The site was owned by ex-Fire Commissioner Bill Fitzpatrick since the 1960’s.  He razed the housing there, largely occupied by immigrants, and used it as a parking lot for well over a decade.  He planned luxury apartments, infuriating locals.  Mel and other activists pitched tents on the lot in protest (King and others would be heckled and later arrested), thus immortalizing the act and the homes today are eponymously named “Tent City Apartments”.

Interesting stats from the PAST month: (sublease & direct – in all cases temp space excluded) from Mass Ave to the Seaport, South End to North Station.

• 39 spaces hit the market as available in the subject area equating to ~387,000 SF, mostly due to: 35546 SF @ 399 Boylston; 188389 @ 226 Causeway; 20000 SF @ 99 High; 
• 33 spaces cameoff the market equating to ~236,000 SF, mostly due to 18200 SF @ 129 Portland; 46136 SF @ 75 State; 19215 @ 2 Seaport;
• Total Availability (direct & sublease) ticked up again, now at an unprecedented ~20,000,000 SF,