Preserving and Revitalizing Boston's Chinatown...

Affordable Housing and RealEstate Development
 

ACDC works directly with the community to develop sustainable, healthy, and high-quality affordable housing, retail, and community space to meet the needs of Asian Americans in Greater Boston. 

Overview:

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.  To date we have completed two large-scale projects in Boston’s Chinatown, and are currently working towards a third.  In addition, we are looking for opportunities to work with rapidly growing Asian American communities who need our services outside of Chinatown. 

ACDC’s real estate developments are large-scale, transit-oriented, mixed-use and mixed-income.  We work strategically with private partners to maximize the number and quality of affordable units we are able to develop while simultaneously fostering diversity that brings strength and additional resources to the neighborhood.  We work closely with neighborhood residents, business owners, and organizations to ensure that what gets built meets the needs and desires of the community.  We ground our developments in the principles of Smart Growth and sustainable design, creating transit-oriented-developments that maximize affordability while offer a variety of housing, services, employment, and transportation options to our residents.

Our Developments:

Oak Terrace Apartments

The Metropolitan

Parcel 24

Accomplishments:

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

•  In 2002, ACDC formally launched its community planning and advocacy program, and hired its first Community Organizer.  ACDC launched a campaign to win back Parcel 24 from the Mass. Turnpike Authority, playing a leadership role in the Hudson Street for Chinatown 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.

• In 2004, ACDC and Edward A. Fish & Associates completed 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 Development Partners 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, roof top gardens, open space, energy efficient design, underground parking, community space, and ground floor retail.

• March 2006, ACDC and New Boston Development Partners win bid to redevelop Parcel 24.