by Lydia Lowe, Chinatown Community Land Trust
The Chinatown Community Land Trust (CLT) is particularly focused on preserving row houses and small properties as permanently affordable housing. Currently there are seven row house condo units for sale. (The lottery has already been held for these units.)
History of the Row Houses
Chinatown’s brick row houses date back to the early/mid-1800s, when landfill projects first created the South Cove neighborhood. Many of these homes were built by Irish immigrants and later occupied by Eastern European, Syrian and Lebanese, and finally Chinese immigrant working class families.
Old-timers still recall the days when parents sat on the stoops watching their United Nations of children play together in the streets. But hundreds of homes were lost to bulldozers during the Urban Renewal and highway construction of the 1950s and 1960s, then to institutional expansion by Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center in the 1970s and 1980s. Many buildings fell into disrepair, but for several decades they remained as affordable homes for new immigrant families. (For a fuller history, read Forever Struggle: Activism, Identity, & Survival in Boston’s Chinatown, 1880-2018 by Michael Liu.)
With the increase in luxury development and the growth of the short-term rental industry, many residents were evicted from the row houses in recent years, with speculative investors turning the units into full-time short term rentals through Airbnb or other platforms. Others proposed enlarging the buildings to be more attractive to high-end buyers.
Permanent Affordability and Community Ownership
Chinatown CLT is working on a community-led model of preservation, seeking to preserve not only historic homes and buildings but also their historic role as homes for immigrant and working class families. The City of Boston’s Community Preservation Committee recently recommended the organization for a historic preservation grant.
Chinatown CLT has returned its first seven units to the permanent housing stock by reclaiming them from short term rental use. The organization also seeks to either purchase from or partner with long-time property owners with a shared vision of stabilizing the Chinatown community .
Through community ownership of the land, Chinatown CLT can ensure that 99-year affordability and resale agreements are enforced, so that the homes will always be affordable to working class households. The organization also maintains an ongoing support role for residents, and works to involve people in community governance and decision-making.
Protecting Core Row House Streets
Community members have called for a Row House Protection Area with zoning guidelines more similar to other neighborhoods’ row house streets, which could include core small-scale streets like Oak Street, Johnny Court, Harvard Street, Tyler and Hudson Streets south of Kneeland, Oxford Street, and Oxford Place. Designation of Chinatown as a Historic District could be another way to provide a community-led commission more involvement in development and demolition decision-making.
Development of Chinatown as a Cultural District and a variety of public art projects is another way to preserve and improve the neighborhood’s row house streets, which have recently seen an increase in graffiti on people’s homes. Plans are beginning for an Immigrant History Trail, which can include historic buildings, legacy businesses, or other landmarks important to the community. If you are interested in joining the Immigrant History Trail Committee or in learning about other ways to preserve our row house streets, email participate@ChinatownCLT.org or leave a voicemail at 617.259.1503.
