ACDC was born in response to critical community needs. During the mid 1980’s, when Boston’s Chinatown sorely lacked affordable housing, Asian immigrants and other low income families had extreme difficulty in securing affordable homes, forcing many out of the neighborhood and into the suburbs where even greater cultural and linguistic barriers limited their access to essential services and job opportunities. Community leaders founded ACDC to address these injustices.

Check out our history over the years and the journey of how we got to where we are today.

• May 1987, ACDC is formed by community leaders and former Chinatown residents.

• 1994, ACDC completed Oak Terrace, an 88-unit mixed income residential project, now home to over 300 residents, as well as neighborhood businesses.

• 1999, ACDC became a founding member of the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD).

• 1999, ACDC started its first youth program. Since then, A-VOYCE youth have become central to much of ACDC’s work, establishing groups such as Youth Roots (at the Berkeley Street Community Garden), The Chinatown Banquet (a video project now part of the Chinatown Heritage Trail), the Young Leaders Network, and the Youth Radio Project.

• 2000, ACDC initiated its Comprehensive Home Ownership Program (CHOP) to provide Chinese-language homebuyer workshops and other services to low income families and individuals.

• 2002, ACDC formally launched its community planning and advocacy program, and hired its first community organizer. ACDC launched a campaign to reclaim Parcel 24 from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. We played a leadership role in the Hudson Street for Chinatown (HSC), a coalition comprised of grassroots community organizations, neighborhood leaders, and residents. ACDC provided technical and organizing resources to the two-year campaign to create a community vision for the land.

• 2004, ACDC and Edward A. Fish & Associates completed work on the $89- million mixed-income development project, The Metropolitan, which offers 251 mixed- income units as well as space for community organizations. 46% of the units (or 115) are home to low and moderate income people.

• March 2005, ACDC and New Boston Fund submitted the sole proposal for Parcel 24. The proposal is based on the vision formed by the HSC coalition and features more than 300 residences, over 50% of which will be available for low and moderate income people. The sustainable design also features a terraced public park, rooftop gardens, open space, energy-efficient design, underground parking, community space, and ground floor retail.

• November 2007, ACDC and New Boston Fund signed a development agreement with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for the right to develop Parcel 24. Construction began in October 2013.

• In April 2012, ACDC celebrated 25 years of community building at ACDC's 25th Anniversary Inspiration Gala. Click here to view our 25th anniversary video.

• September 2014, ACDC began renovations on Tremont Village, a 20-unit low-income apartment building at the border of Chinatown and Bay Village. ACDC undertook renovations to address life-safety and quality-of-life issues, as well as improve the energy efficiency of the property, in order to preserve these affordable housing units for low-income residents. The preservation efforts were completed in the summer of 2015

• August 2015, ACDC and New Boston completed work on One Greenway, which provided 312 mixed-income rental units, as well as a 10,000 square foot community space and an open green space. 95 of the rental units were designated for low and moderate income families.

• In 2016, ACDC expanded its financial and first-time homebuyer program and services to Malden, where more than 20% of residents are Asian.

• August 2016, ACDC youth collaborate with Chinatown Main Street youth and WalkBoston to run a pedestrian safety campaign in Chinatown. After research and a presentation to the Boston Transportation Department appealing for specific structural improvements, BTD nearly doubled the walk light time, installed multiple signs prohibiting turns on red lights, and painted street markers to prevent cars from rolling over stoplight boundaries.

• Fall 2016, construction begins on 51 affordable condos, 88 Hudson Street, revitalizing Chinatown and providing homes for the low to moderate income families and individuals.

• 2017:

  • ACDC celebrated 30 years of community building at ACDC's Dim Sum Breakfast. Click here to view our 30th anniversary video.

  • Constructions wraps on 51 affordable condos in Chinatown at 88 Hudson.