2012 ANNUAL REPORT
Asian Community Development Corporation
Message from Board President and Executive Director We marked our 25th banner year of service to the Asian American Community by building more quality affordable homes for families and providing the complementary capacity-building programs necessary to support thriving , vibrant neighborhoods. • •
We achieved full occupancy of the 34 new homes within 6 Fort Street Apartments in Quincy, ACDC’s first housing development outside of Chinatown. This was within two months of opening the application process in which we received 398 applications. We provided temporary housing crisis assistance to relocate approximately 50 individuals and families who were displaced by the evacuation of a boarding house in Chinatown this past winter. The residents were primarily Chinese-speaking restaurant workers.
• We graduated 167 individuals for our HUD-certified first-time homebuyer workshop. Half of the graduates are ready to buy a home and the other half are participating in one-on-one housing counseling to realize their goal of homeownership. •
We greened our Oak Terrace Apartments with new, high-efficiency boilers and other retrofits that were featured in the annual report of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Communities and Banking published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
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We continue to sponsor the Reading Room at our Oak Terrace Apartments. The Reading Room is a pilot of the Chinatown Lantern Cultural and Educational Center initiative which aims to bring library and cultural services to Chinatown.
2013 already is shaping up to be another exciting year with the ground breaking of Parcel 24. Please join us in our efforts to shape the future of our community for the next 25 years.
Michael Tow Board President
Janelle Chan Executive Director It has been an honor to serve as ACDC’s Board President for the last 5 years. My deepest appreciation and thanks to the dedicated ACDC board and staff who worked together with me fulfilling ACDC’s mission, as well as being extremely supportive of me throughout my tenure. I look forward to continuing to serve ACDC as a member of the board and I know we will be in good hands with our new Board President, Paul Lee. Mike Tow
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Michael Tow and Janelle Chan with Governor Patrick at ACDC’s 25th Anniversary Inspiration Gala
Our Mission The Asian Community Development Corporation, a communitybased organization, is committed to high standards of performance and integrity in serving the Asian American community of Greater Boston, with an emphasis on preserving and revitalizing Boston’s Chinatown. The Corporation addresses the current, growing needs of its community: • Affordable housing for rental and home ownership • Promotes economic development • Fosters leadership development • Builds capacity within the community • Advocates on behalf of the community.
History Community leaders and activists founded Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) in 1987 to respond to the needs of the Asian American community in Greater Boston. Since then, our community has expanded beyond the boundaries of Boston’s Chinatown. ACDC’s programs have evolved to serve a geographically dispersed and yet socially, culturally, and economically connected community. For a quarter century, ACDC has worked in partnership with the community by developing over $125 million in mixed-use, transit-oriented, primarily residential developments that responds to their needs, desires, and aspirations for their neighborhood. The organization has distinguished itself by promoting a development model that leverages the market to provide a high percentage of on-site affordable homes in transit-oriented, highly desirable locations that have the service infrastructure to support its residents. Our comprehensive approach to community engagement means that our developments benefit those who live in our residential buildings as well as the surrounding neighborhood, often by providing open space and catalyzing positive change in a previously disinvested area. ACDC’s developments are home to over 800 adults and children, five leading Chinatown non-profit organizations, and two small businesses. Our residents are our neighborhood’s assets – we provide the complementary counseling and resident services to ensure our residents have the stability to fully engage in improving the quality of life for themselves and their neighbors. We have fostered new leadership amongst youth and residents by utilizing cross-generational learning as well as introducing new technology to broaden participation at town hall meetings. We have empowered residents with the tools and resources they need to stabilize their housing, which may include buying their own homes, participating in the planning of their neighborhoods, and contributing more fully to the economic and civic life throughout the region.
Guests celebrating ACDC 25th anniversary at the Taj Boston
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Real Estate Development The key to preserving and revitalizing neighborhoods in Greater Boston is to ensure adequate, high quality affordable housing to meet the current and future needs of our community. We work directly with our stakeholders to build a common vision for real estate in Chinatown and in the communities in which Asian Americans live, work, and play. Our partnerships with private developers realize these visions. We remain committed to building high impact, sustainable communities that are affordable and welcoming for residents, neighbors, and visitors. ACDC also engages in active asset management of our real estate portfolio to ensure the long-term physical and financial viability of these community assets.
116 Hudson Street, one of the many homes demolished by the City of Boston to make way for the Massachusetts Turnpike in the 1960’s.
Photo courtesy of Cynthia Yee
Residences created by ACDC include two in Chinatown– Oak Street Terrace and Metropolitan; and one in Quincy – 6 Fort Street. These are all transit-oriented developments that comprise a total of 339 new, affordable and market rate homes in Chinatown and 34 new rentals in Quincy.
Parcel 24
Parcel 24 Current View from south towards Kneeland Street
The Parcel 24 project slated for groundbreaking in 2013 will create 362 units of new housing. Located at the end of the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Chinatown, Parcel 24 promises to restore and revitalize a city block that was once home to 300 residents displaced by highway expansion. The Parcel 24 Plan responds to the vision of the Hudson Street for Chinatown Coalition with 40% affordable rental and homeownership units, green space, community space, ground floor, retail, and underground parking. All of the elements are incorporated into a neighborhoodsensitive, transit oriented, sustainable design. Parcel 24 is a joint venture between ACDC and the for-profit New Boston Fund, Inc.
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Parcel 24 Artist Rendering from south towards Kneeland Street
6 Fort Street Apartments ACDC’s 6 Fort Street Apartments was fully occupied by 34 families in early 2012. This is ACDC’s first housing development outside of Chinatown. The 6 Fort Street Apartments project, completed in late 2011, has transformed a vacant building that was formerly a church and commercial space into a vibrant community of residents. Situated in a convenient, environmentally responsible and walkable area, 6 Fort Street introduces much needed affordable housing within the City of Quincy, one of Greater Boston’s high-demand, high cost, inner core communities. This is one of the first family-focused, tax credit-financed affordable housing to be developed in Quincy recently. ACDC’s long-term investment in the local community is assured by the organization’s continued ownership and community focused management of the property. The Metropolitan The Metropolitan, completed in 2005, is a mixed use 23 story high-rise containing 251 rental and homeownership units, 115 (or 46%) of which are affordable to low and moderate income families. Located in the heart of Chinatown, the building includes community space for community-based social services organizations; street-level retail and commercial space; and two levels of underground parking with 283 spaces. ACDC successfully incorporated an extraordinary number of affordable units by capturing and capitalizing on the intrinsic value of the site’s desirable location in downtown Boston, access to a plethora of public transportation options, and existing diversity and density that allowed the market-rate cond0s to subsidize the affordable housing component. Oak Terrace Oak Terrace, built in 1995, is ACDC’s earliest developments. It was the first housing development in Chinatown in over 20 years. Today the building is home to over 300 residents, the majority of whom are low to moderate income households. Of the 88 rental units, 60 are affordable. It also provides space for community meetings, local businesses, and health care practitioners. ACDC recently updated the units with high-efficiency boilers and other retrofits that were featured in publications by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In addition, Oak Terrace houses the Reading Room, a community initiative sponsored by ACDC.
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Community Planning & Organizing
Comprehensive Housing Opportunity Program (CHOP) The Comprehensive Housing Opportunities Program (CHOP) provides multilingual first-time homebuyer workshops, financial education, and one-on-one counseling to families for their housing needs. CHOP is certified through the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Seal of Approval Program sponsored by the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). 48% of our CHOP clients were low and extremely low income, or making less than 50% of the Area Median Income. ACDC’s housing specialists counseled and educated 340 clients, the majority of which were Asian immigrants or limited English proficiency. ACDC assisted over 20 households close on their first home purchases and 65 households become mortgage-ready, creating a pipeline of homeowners. In addition, ACDC counseled over 50 households who were struggling with displacement, high rent burden, and/or homelessness.
Sherry and Yi Zou, a Cantonese and English speaking couple that moved to Boston from abroad, learned about the necessary steps to becoming homeowners with ACDC’s HB101 class. They bought a condo in Brighton in early winter 2012. Now Sherry also volunteers in her spare time with ACDC’s homebuyer education program. 6
State representative Tacky Chan worked with ACDC to give a tour and “walk-shop of North Quincy neighborhood.
ACDC facilitates and organizes community planning processes to harness the effective participation of the Chinatown and Greater Boston Asian American communities. Our activities in 2012 included training workshops, translation, bringing legislator meet and greets, and survey selection. ACDC empowers and facilitates residents, business owners, youth, elders, and other key stakeholders to shape the neighborhoods in which they live, work, and play. In one notable project, ACDC partnered with Quincy Planning Department, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and Emerson College’s Engagement Games Lab for a community visioning project funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Sustainable Communities Program. Together the project team created Quincy Community PlanIt. This online game and portal involved residents and stakeholders in the planning and visioning for the North Quincy and Wollaston neighborhoods, which have experienced an unprecedented upsurge in diversity over the past decade. Participants earned points for each activity in timed “missions” that focused on different aspects of neighborhood life such as recreation, the local economy, and transportation. Over 400 individuals participated in the game and community meetings throughout February to June 2012.
Chinatown Heritage Project The celebration of Chinatown heritage is the guiding principle for this project. It provides the cultural education sought by Asians born in and outside the U.S. as well as visitors to the neighborhood. The blend of activities promotes cross-cultural understanding, contributes to Chinatown’s economic prosperity, and offers various mediums for expression. ACDC offers a walking tour of Chinatown, a youth program in the summer, a documentary of Chinatown, and an outdoor film festival on the Rose Kennedy Greenway next to the Chinatown Gate.
A-VOYCE Asian Voices of Organized Youth for Community Empowerment (A-VOYCE) is ACDC’s dynamic youth development program for youth from Greater Boston. This program brings high school students together to use their voices in affecting positive change in the community through the power of dialogue and storytelling. In 2012, the A-VOYCE program engaged 20 youth participants in leveraging over 4,000 hours of learning and community service.
Chinatown Walking Tour
Following a youth leadership development curriculum, AVOYCE youth move from theory to practice by participating in the Chinatown Walking Tour program. The program trains students to lead community tours of Chinatown and give visitors historical, cultural, and personal perspectives of the 300 plus year old neighborhood. Youths are encouraged to use their own narratives in their tours and provide participants with an insider’s view of Chinatown.
2012 Highlights: • Project Stitch, a cultural empathy multi-media project founded by A-VOYCE alumni, won a United Way Youth Venture seed funding grant • A-VOYCE led summer walking tours of Boston’s Chinatown that introduced others to the experience of the neighborhood with their narratives. • A-VOYCE learned entrepreneurship, public speaking, and communications skills through managing the Chinatown Walking Tour and volunteering for Films at the Gate.
“A-VOYCE was an opportunity to explore a little bit about myself and peers within Boston. I enjoyed trying to help out the local community with my friends and overall I would want others to do the same.” – Howard Chen “…to me A-VOYCE meant family. Through A-VOYCE, I was able to meet and really get to know a variety of people from and around Boston. It was an unforgettable experience.” – Gerry Paradela
Reading Room ACDC continues to sponsor the Reading Room situated within its Oak Terrace Apartments. The Reading Room, a pilot of Chinatown Lantern Cultural and Educational Center Initiative, aims to bring library and cultural services to Chinatown. Community members learn English, receive tutoring and participate in workshops. 7
Signature Events ACDC offers several signature events each year to engage our community beginning with our annual benefit, the Inspiration Gala which honors outstanding contributors to civic life here in Chinatown as well as Greater Boston. Our Golf Getaway is the next event which brings together our business and community partners as well as avid golfers for a fun tournament. Finally, in late August, ACDC transforms a public space into an outdoor theatre and holds, Films at the Gate, a film series that offers family friendly kung fu fims and live martial arts demonstrations to residents, neighbors, and film lovers.
25th Anniversary Inspiriation Gala
Douglas Ling leads a caravan of golf carts From left to right: Rev. Cheng Imm Tan, Jeffrey Wong, Susan Tow, George A. Russell, Randy Tow, Michael Tow, Massachusetts State Treasurer Steven Grossman and Janet Wu
In April, honored guests Governor Deval Patrick and State Treasurer Steve Grossman joined ACDC and its supporters to celebrate ACDC’s 25 years of community building at the glamorous Taj Boston. For this milestone year, ACDC celebrated its accomplishments and reaffirmed its commitment to working with the community to improve the quality of life for those living and working in our neighborhoods for the next quarter century.
Golf Getaway The 9th annual tournament marked the first year that ACDC partnered with the Liberty Mutual Insurance Invitational, “the #1 Charity Event in Golf,” to provide a world-class experience for golfers. This is a two day event hosted by the exclusive Lake Winnipesaukee Golf Club in New Durham, New Hampshire. Golfers can choose to go up early and take advantage of Day One which includes one complimentary round of golf with dinner provided and on Day Two, compete in the main tournament with all the golfers. 8
Leslie Davol is one of the co-founders of Films at the Gate, and the nonprofit, Street Lab. Leslie and her husband, Sam Davol are ACDC’s Inspiration Award recipients.
Annual Meeting ACDC held its annual meeting on November 27th at Hei La Moon Restaurant in Boston’s Chinatown. It was a great turnout with 150 guests in attendance. “The Role of Community Development Corporations in Our Economy’s Recovery” was presented by guest speakers Joe Kriesberg, President of the the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations and Peter Madsen, Managing Director of Edo Essex Properties and ACDC board member. We honored David Taglieri, Mortgage Development Officer of Sovereign Bank as this year’s Outstanding Housing Educator.
Joe Kriesberg, President MACDC
Films at the Gate Each summer ACDC transforms Chinatown Park at Boston’s famous Chinatown Gate into a free, outdoor theater, showing Kung Fu and classic Chinese-language films. The series seeks to: • improve awareness of Boston’s Chinatown as a site of cultural activity • restore a tradition of shared, public experience of Chinese-language films in Chinatown, • provide temporary community use of Chinatown’s underutilized spaces, • draw foot-traffic to neighborhood restaurants, and make downtown Boston a destination beyond the working hours. This is the 7th year of the event. It is a collaborative project of Chinatown residents, Boston Street Lab, film curator Jean Lukitsch, and ACDC.
Helen Chin-Schlichte, Kairos Shenand and Paul Watanabe
From left to right: Janelle Chan, Sonia Alleyne, David Taglieri, and Vivien Wu
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Financial Information FY 2012 Interest & Misc. 0.2%
Program Earned Income 1.0%
Admin 11.7%
Grants, Contributions & Fundraising 38.1%
Real Estate earned income 60.8%
Community Programs 22.5%
Fundraising 30.3% Real Estate 35.5%
Halloween at the Reading Room
REVENUE Grants, Contributions & Fundraising......................$392,413 Real Estate earned income....................................$626,932 Program earned income.............................................$9,944 Interest & Misc............................................................$1,644 Total Revenue
38.1% 60.8% 1.0% 0.2%
$1,030,933
EXPENSES Community Programs............................................$178,421 Real Estate ............................................................$281,212 Fundraising.............................................................$240,169 Administration..........................................................$92,319 Total Expenses
22.5% 35.5% 30.3% 11.7%
Chinese Henan Association Outreach
$792,122
Total Assets $17,743,882 Liabilities $2,387,940 Net Assets $15,355,942
FY12 Annual Report Data (excluding OT interest) For a complete copy of our audit, please contact us at 617-482-2380
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Chinese New Year Party
Donors Action for Regional Equity Druker Company, Ltd Ian Anderson East West Bank Bank of America Merrill Lynch Eastern Bank Foundation Barr Foundation Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP Boston Foundation for Architecture Ercolini & Company LLP Boston Private Bank & Trust Co. Stephanie and John Fan Boston Public Health Commission Donna and James Fong Boston Redevelopment Authority Michael Greco Bozzuto Group Hingham Institute for Savings Paul Bui Hong Kong Restaurant Shane Caiazzo Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates Cathay Bank Kuota Huang Cathay Bank Foundation Thomas Huw Ed Champy John Moriarty & Associates Dongsup Kim Caroline and Gene Chang Klein Hornig LLP Nick Chau Yongmei Chen KVAssociates George Chin Terry Kwan Terry Chin Mary and Paul W Lee CitiBank Rebecca Lee Lee, Yee & Company PC Citizens’ Housing & Planning Association, Inc Harvey Leong City of Boston DND Community Development Corporation of Douglas Ling Zena Lum Boston Maloney Properties, Inc Community Economic Development MassHousing Assistance Corporation Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporate Finance Group Inc Corporation Crosby, Schlessinger, & Smallridge, LLC Massachusetts Capital Resource Company Robert Dankese McNamara/Salvia, Inc Davis Square Architects, Inc McPhail Associates, Inc Davis, Malm & D’Agostine, P.C. Metlife Foundation Ambrose Donovan
Millennium Partners Peter Munkenbeck National Grid NCAPACD NEI General Contracting New Boston Fund, Inc Abby Nguyen-Burke NorthEast Interiors Novo Nordisk Inc Proskauer Rose LLP Red Star Construction Services South Cove Community Health Center State Street Jay Sun Tai Tung Pharmacy Tai Tung Realty Michael Tow Susan and Randy Tow Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service Tufts Medical Center Tufts School of Dental Medicine Tufts University United Way of Massachusetts Bay WSP Flack + Kurtz Jeffrey Wong Emily Yu
7th Annual Films at the Gate
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Board of Directors
Staff
Michael Tow
Janelle Chan
President
Donsup Samuel Kim * Vice President
Jeffrey Wong Treasurer
Geoffrey Why Vice Treasurer
Michael S. Greco Clerk
Nick Chau Yongmei Chen Chong Chow Soni Gupta Cuong Hoang* Harvey Leong Zena Lum Peter Madsen Paul Lee** Yasuna Murakami* Geoffrey Why Leverett Wing*
Executive Director
Denise Lau
Director of Resource Development and Communications
Vivien Wu
Director of Programs
Lee Lin
Housing Coordinator
May Lui
Outreach Coordinator
Jason Chou
Operations Management Consultant
Tim Doherty*
Director of Real Estate Development
Iris Tan *
Special Events Manager
Yanni Poulakos*
Director of Development
Alvina Lin Condon* Operations Manager
John Sickel
Consultant CFO
*ACDC thanks our outgoing directors and staff for their contribution. **ACDC welcomes Paul Lee as incoming Board President for 2013
ACDC Board of Directors (left to right, top row) Yongmei Chen, Harvey Leong, Jeffrey Wong, Peter Madsen (bottom row) Nick Chau, Terry Kwan, Zena Lum, Geoffrey Why and Soni Gupta
Staff and volunteers (left to right, top row) Tim Doherty, John Sickel, Vivien Wu, Tom Stack, Jason Chou (bottom row) Janelle Chan, May Lui, Sherry Zou, Lee Lin, Cen Qiu and Denise Lau
Volunteers & Interns Ramzi Babouder-Matta Karen Cai Selena Cai Katie Chen Vincent Chia Andrea Chiu Allison Chou Leah Driska Justin Lianghui Feng Sissi Yuehong Ge David Dawei Hu Jonathan Lee Stella Legon
Kay Runqing Li Mei-Hua Li Tiger Xiaohu Li John Lian Kevin Liang Vicky Liao Eric Pan Lin Jo Jo Yun Lu Vanessa Ly Esther Ng Bo Meng Kenny Phan Cen Qiu
Anna Quach Snow Yifei Ren Shuping Shen Tom Stack Annie Liqin Sun Sandy Ta Yecheng Tang Tim Wong Vicky Wu Johnny Zhiyi Yao Christina Yu Zou Sherry Zou