City officials will have a unique opportunity over the
next several weeks to reverse some of the historical injustices perpetrated
against Philadelphia's Chinatown.
For generations, Chinatown has faced attacks from a
series of urban renewal projects, including the Pennsylvania Convention Center,
the Vine Street Expressway, and the Gallery. These projects benefited the
region but hemmed in our neighborhood, displacing businesses and a quarter of
our residents.
One of the most egregious urban displacement projects
occurred at a key parcel at Eighth and Race Streets, where the city razed
businesses and homes more than 50 years ago to build the Commuter Rail Tunnel
and Broad-Ridge Spur of the Broad Street Subway.
After decades as a parking lot, the Philadelphia
Redevelopment Authority is now considering two competing development proposals
to revitalize the block.
The city's decision will have wide-ranging implications
for the future of Chinatown.
After carefully considering both proposals, we believe
that the one spearheaded by Parkway Corp. and Presby's Inspired Life, Another
Village, best meets the needs of our community. It provides desperately needed
senior affordable housing, additional open space, and opportunities for the
Asian business community to expand. The project will also help stitch Chinatown
back into Center City's urban fabric by removing barriers and connecting the
neighborhood to Franklin Square Park.
Since 1969, the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp.
has played a unique role in the effort to preserve, protect, and defend
Chinatown from urban renewal and development schemes that threatened our
community's existence.
Our advocacy saved the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church and
School, which functions as Chinatown's cultural heart, from being demolished as
part of a highway project. In the decades since, we have helped turn Chinatown
into one of Philadelphia's most vibrant neighborhoods by implementing a series
of comprehensive plans designed to provide much-needed amenities to Center
City's poorest section.
We strongly endorse the Parkway proposal because it best
advances the community development goals embodied in Chinatown's master plan,
which has been endorsed by both the city Planning Commission and the Delaware
Valley Regional Planning Commission.
The development team worked hand-in-hand with us to
assemble a project with a laser-like focus on meeting Chinatown's needs and
helping our neighborhood grow.
First, this proposal addresses a desperate shortage for
affordable senior housing. Presby's Inspired Life has pledged to develop 60 new
units and provide wraparound services that will allow seniors to age in place
in a neighborhood where 46 percent of households earn $20,000 a year or less.
The proposal addresses Chinatown's need for more open
space by providing an intergenerational park where children and adults can
exercise together in a neighborhood without a recreation center or playground.
This space will function as a gateway to the revitalized Franklin Square.
The developers also want to grow Chinatown's
entrepreneurial community. They have pledged to seek capital from Asian
investors and want to build a new 20,000-square-foot Asian supermarket for an
existing neighborhood business that is looking to expand, as well as add
additional storefronts in a new mixed-use development. Moreover, the team is
working to bring a groundbreaking aeroponic urban farm to the site to expand
access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
All of these initiatives will create badly needed jobs
for Chinatown.
The developers are working with a neighborhood real
estate firm to identify potential owners for a market-rate condominium building
to expand housing opportunities for middle-class families who want to remain in
Chinatown. The Realtors have already documented great demand among potential
buyers.
The development team has a proven track record working
with our community. Presby currently operates the On Lok House as senior
affordable housing, and Parkway has developed the Pearl condominiums to provide
additional commercial and residential space for Asian residents. Both projects
have strengthened Chinatown.
The competing proposal would expand access to legal
services for low-income Philadelphians through the construction of a new Equal
Justice Center. While the goal is laudable, Chinatown already shoulders more
than its fair share of regional services.
That proposal also calls for the construction of a hotel,
which the community does not need. We believe it would exacerbate parking and
traffic problems.
The city must use the opportunity to develop Chinatown's
last remaining open parcel to meet our community's specific needs while undoing
the damage from previous urban renewal projects.
Parkway and Presby's proposal advances these goals, which
is why we urge our city leaders to enable us to take advantage of this historic
opportunity to improve our neighborhood. The plan that best fits our community
is Another Village.
John Chin is executive director of the Philadelphia
Chinatown Development Corp (PCDC).
Source: Philly.com
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