Marcel Dawson can tick off a litany of dislikes about the South Bay Center: The press of swirling traffic and swarms of shoppers. The big box stores and concrete block architecture. The gritty setting that can be intimidating come nightfall.
Yet the 31-year-old mutual funds salesman, who recently moved to Boston from Charlotte, N.C., regularly finds himself at Target, loading up on necessities. And like many of the other thousands who churn each day through the 540,000-square-foot shopping center in a no man's land south of downtown, Dawson has developed a grudging affection for the place.
"It's almost like a train station. We are all here to pick something up," he said as he shopped with his fiancee for a clothing storage bin. "And because of that, you don't get the 'Don't cross into my neighborhood.' No one territorializes this place."
In an area famous for balkanized neighborhoods and clannish mentalities, the South Bay Center on the border of Dorchester has emerged as a melting pot uniting residents of South Boston, Dorchester, the South End, and Roxbury.
Not much local news today, huh?
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