ACDC Wins Developer Rights for Parcel R1, Securing Permanent Chinatown Library Branch

BOSTON — July 19, 2026 — Boston's Asian Community Development Corporation marked its 30th anniversary and its first in-person Dim Sum Breakfast since the pandemic with major housing and library announcements at the Powell Arts Center in Chinatown. Executive Director Angie Liu announced ACDC received the developer designation for Parcel R1, a parking lot adjacent to the venue, with plans for approximately 110 affordable apartments and condominiums and a permanent Boston Public Library branch — a goal the community has pursued for nearly 50 years. ACDC also disclosed the February acquisition of 64 Beach Street, the first time a nonprofit has purchased an occupied building in Chinatown for preservation purposes. Mayor Michelle Wu and Dr. Ashish Jha, then White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator and Brown University School of Public Health Dean, both addressed the gathering; Jha received the Neal Chin Community Service Award and argued that community trust — not income or health coverage — was the decisive variable in pandemic outcomes. Project Restore Us, co-founded by Chef Irene Lee of Mei Mei Restaurant and three colleagues, received the Inspiration Award after raising more than $1 million and distributing more than 750 tons of food to vulnerable families during the pandemic.