Harbor Point Apartments (Boston, Massachusetts)

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Formerly Columbia Point Housing Project. By the 1970s Columbia Point had become plagued by crime so severe that even ambulances refused to enter the project without a police escort. The turning point came in 1984 when the state turned the property over to the private development firm Corcoran, Mullins, Jennison (CMJ). CMJ razed the old Columbia Point apartments and built the Harbor Point Apartment Community in their place. The new management worked with local police to bring crime in the neighborhood under control and strictly enforced all aspects of tenants’ leases, evicting those who caused problems or engaged in illegal activities. Harbor Point also opened 883 of the 1,283 units to market-rate renters, creating a mixed-income community. A new health club, swimming pool, tennis courts, and ample parking appealed to people from all ethnic backgrounds and social classes, further ensuring the diversity and stability of the revitalized community. Today Harbor Point is viewed as a successful model of urban revitalization and has been studied by city planners and developers across the country.