The Chinatown Master Plan was first developed in 1990 to respond to residential concerns about competing demands for affordable housing and institutional expansion in Chinatown. As we reach nearly three and a half years since the start of COVID, and the release of the 2020 version of the report, Sampan convened a discussion with Chinatown Community Land Trust Executive Director Lydia Lowe, Pao Arts Center Director Cynthia Woo, and Asian Community Development Corporation Executive Director Angie Liou to discuss successes, failures, obstacles still impeding this vision for a better Chinatown.
SAMPAN: What were the original hopes involved with developing Chinatown as a Historic and Cultural District that celebrates its history as an anchor neighborhood for immigrant working class families? Are your hopeful things being on schedule to elevate the rich cultural legacy of Chinatown and its people?
Lydia: People always say that Chinatown is an important historic and cultural center, but until now we haven’t really tried to spell out what that means and how to maintain it. Now that we have experienced two decades of gentrification and displacement, there is broad consensus that we want to keep Chinatown on the map, and that this requires keeping immigrant working class families in the neighborhood. So, the Master Plan pointed to different strategies, and we are kind of pursuing all of them.
Cynthia: Cultural work and planning is instrumental in creating spaces of belonging that are essential to the health and well-being of all neighborhoods and communities. Cultural work invites community stories to be told, which spreads awareness of the historical context and current issues and needs in the neighborhood. In this way, the arts make community advocacy more accessible; and when community advocacy is more accessible, it becomes possible to envision the future of the neighborhood that is inclusive and collectively planned.
SAMPAN: Is the goal of maximizing affordable housing developments on public and community-controlled land and prioritizing housing for low-income families still in reach? Where (or how) does Mayor Wu’s vision of transforming unused office space into affordable housing units fit into your vision?
Angie: ACDC has worked with the community over the years to create high-impact affordable housing on publicly owned land, including Oak Terrace, The Metropolitan, Parcel 24, and the new Parcel R-1 development that will begin construction next year. We have also just submitted a proposal to the City’s RFP for Parcel 12. As wonderful as these projects are, Chinatown is running out of public parcels of land to develop on, and the pace of developing new projects can be painfully slow, so we need to look at new strategies such as purchasing privately owned housing and preserving their affordability. The Mayor’s vision of converting underutilized office buildings into housing is an intriguing one, and there may be opportunities in and around Chinatown for this type of conversion in the near future.
SAMPAN: Following up on the previous question, how are things progressing with preserving every unit of Chinatown’s existing subsidized housing and seeking opportunities to secure permanent affordability?
Lydia: With a lot of tenant and community organizing, as well as a strong stand from the City of Boston, we have managed to preserve most affordable housing subsidy contracts as they have expired in and around Chinatown. But an important building to watch is the Chinagate Apartments at 15 Beach Street, where the owner has opted not to renew his Section 8 contract. Chinatown non-profits and the City would be eager to preserve affordable housing for those tenants, some of whom have lived there for three decades. New zoning guidelines that the City is proposing for Chinatown could also discourage real estate speculation, directly affecting vulnerable tenants at risk of displacement there and in other Chinatown buildings.
SAMPAN: The Master Plan has also been looking to remove properties from the private market for permanent affordability. How is that progressing?
Lydia: I would say that is the particular focus of the Chinatown Community Land Trust, although this is one of the strategies listed in the Master Plan. Buying properties off the overpriced market for affordable housing, it’s hard to make the numbers work, but in partnership with the City, Chinatown CLT has been successful in preserving 11 affordable units to date. We continue to look for these opportunities, with a focus on permanently affordable, resident-controlled housing, which could mean condo units, cooperative housing, or rent-to-own.
Angie: As I mentioned earlier, developing new affordable housing is a long process that is far slower than the pace of gentrification and displacement in Chinatown, so it behooves us to look at new strategies of buying and preserving existing housing. ACDC successfully purchased our first “naturally occurring affordable housing”, or NOAH for short, in early 2022. We bought the building at 64 Beach St, which includes 14 apartments and a long-time Chinatown restaurant, and as a result we are able to keep the apartments affordable as well as ensure the restaurant remains.
SAMPAN: Finally, the Master Plan is focused on improving community health and quality of life, including greening efforts, open space improvements, prioritizing pedestrian safety, air pollution mitigation, and planning for climate change. Thinking about the extreme weather this year, especially the July heat and humidity here and across the country, are you looking to put an extra push towards community health and safety? Does the Master Plan put one goal above the other or are they all urgent? How can the general public be more regularly informed of how things are developing?
Lydia: Chinatown is affected by both the threat of flooding and extreme heat, and has the worst particulate air pollution in the state. That’s why several groups have come together in an effort called Chinatown HOPE to work for improved access to nature, wellness activities, and improvement of open space. We are thrilled that the City is studying a long term plan to create open space over the Mass Turnpike, but there are more immediate steps that could make a difference, like redesigning Phillips Square as a community green space or protecting and expanding Reggie Wong Park. And longer term, we would like to see a park or community garden next to the future Chinatown library. The Chinatown Master Plan is just a plan, but it’s up to each of us and the different Chinatown organizations to implement the strategies and ideas. The Master Plan Committee is a common space to share updates. It meets the second Monday of each month online, and anyone can get on the email list by emailing lydia@chinatownclt.org or angie.liou@asiancdc.org.
