The Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) sought to purchase a mixed use building with 14 residential units and a longtime restaurant to preserve affordability for tenants. In February 2022, LISC participated on a $3.5 million acquisition loan to ACDC with BlueHub Capital, the first of its kind in Chinatown.
Boston’s Chinatown is the only historic Chinatown in New England and the third-largest Chinese neighborhood of its kind in the United States (after only New York City and San Francisco). First populated by Chinese immigrants in the early 1890s, Chinatown’s streets are now lined with a dense mix of shops, restaurants, bakeries, and food markets that draw visitors ranging from local employees to tourists. Many of these retailers are located in historic masonry buildings that formerly specialized in garment manufacturing—an industry that proliferated in the area throughout the 1900s.
One of those masonry buildings is 64 Beach Street, a six-story building just steps away from the historic Chinatown gate. There, you can find the New Golden Gate restaurant and 14 residential apartment units, home to predominantly working-class Chinese immigrants.
While the units are currently naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH), Chinatown is experiencing rapid displacement and gentrification that put them at risk. According to a recent MIT study, even before the pandemic, 80 percent of Chinatown residents experienced housing insecurity. The neighborhood’s proximity to downtown Boston has made Chinatown a prime target for luxury residential development and speculative real estate development, which have led to rapidly increasing rents in the area.
To preserve affordability for tenants, The Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) sought to purchase the building and complete needed updates. In February 2022, LISC participated on a $3.5 million acquisition loan to ACDC with BlueHub Capital. With these funds and a $3.85 million commitment from the City of Boston, ACDC was able to preserve 14 affordable housing units. ACDC is independently covering renovation costs for the building, including updating an aging elevator and currently vacant units.
According to GBH, Boston’s public broadcasting station, this is the first nonprofit housing acquisition in Boston’s Chinatown. Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) has been advocating for and supporting the unmet needs of Boston’s Chinatown since 1987, and today serves immigrant populations throughout the Greater Boston area. ACDC aims to preserve affordable housing and culture to strengthen communities, especially in gentrifying Chinatown.
In partnership with the City of Boston’s Acquisition Opportunity Program, all of the 64 Beach Street apartments will remain affordable to families up to 80 percent of the area’s median income (AMI). Two units are reserved for families making 30 percent of AMI.
“ACDC’s acquisition is instrumental to ensure units are protected for the community and prevent further displacement,” said Margaret Keaveny, LISC Boston senior program officer for lending and investment. “We are proud to support a project that contributes to the preservation of long-term affordable housing in Chinatown.”