The fiscal year 2009 was a year of not only transition and challenge but also achievement for the Asian Community Development Corporation. The community-based organization celebrated its 22 years with more than 150 staff, friends, and guests on December 1 at Hei La Moon Restaurant in Chinatown.
“You have a long history of commitment,” said the keynote speaker, Keith Motley, Chancellor at University of Massachusetts Boston. “You have a long history of service to the Asian American community in Boston and to the development and revitalization of Chinatown here in this city.”
Asian activists and leaders founded the Asian Community Development Corporation in 1987 in response to the needs of Asian Americans in Greater Boston. Much of the organization’s work to date has focused on Chinatown; however, as the community changes, the corporation is going to meet new needs and is expanding its programs to serve ever-diversifying communities throughout Greater Boston.
During the past two decades, the organization has distinguished itself by promoting a development model of mixed-use, mixed-income real estate with a high percentage of affordable housing. Its developments are now home to over 800 residents and more than 300 families.
Michael Tow, board president at the corporation said the Asian Community Development Corporation is committed to high standards of performance and integrity in serving the Asian American community of Grater Boston with an emphasis on preserving and revitalizing Boston’s Chinatown.
The Corporation develops physical community assets, including affordable housing for rental and ownership; promotes economic development; builds capacity within the community; and advocates on behalf of the community. It strives to give low-income residents the tools and resources they need to buy their own homes, participate in the change and growth in their communities, and contribute more fully to economic and civic life throughout the region.
“2009 is a very challenging year,” said Tow.
The 2009 Greater Boston Housing Report Card finds that despite declines in the absolute value of homes in the Greater Boston Area, it has actually become relatively more expensive than in other parts of the country. The corporation is responding to these challenges by moving forward with Parcel 24 and 6 Fort Street and continuing to pursue potential developments that meet the need for affordable housing in Chinatown and beyond. According to the organization, Parcel 24 will provide 325 rental and homeownership units, with the exceptional goal of 50% of all units affordable. 6 Fort Street is a 34-unit family rental residential development in Quincy. The project will represent the adaptive re-use of a vacant and disinvested commercial building in a transit-oriented, Downtown Quincy Center location.
“We found a way to make it happen,” said Dharmena Downey, Interim Executive Director at Asian Community Development Corporation. “It doesn’t matter how great a challenge we face, we’ve got great people in this organization that are truly committed to the work.”
The corporation’s Community Service Awards were presented to five volunteers who have contributed their time, talent and resources to the community work. They are Danny Lui, Kazufumi Miki, Maple Zou, Ni Deng, and Roberto Di Marco.
