Our Voice, Our Land 我們的聲音, 我們的土地

Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA, formerly called the Boston Redevelopment Authority) held a public meeting online on November 17, 2020 to discuss the future of Parcel R-1, the publicly owned lot between Tyler and Hudson Streets that is the former site of the old Chinatown YMCA. Get the information and submit your comments to the City here.

Origins of Parcel R-1
The land known as Parcel R-1 was formerly homes and commercial spaces utilized by many immigrant, working class families, until these buildings were among hundreds that were razed during Urban Renewal.  While much of the urban renewal land was used to build the highways, some became part of the hospital campus, some was used to build replacement housing like Tai Tung Village and Mass Pike Towers, and Parcel R-1 remained in City hands. Other public land near Chinatown is owned by state government (such as Parcels 25 and 26, which includes Reggie Wong Park).
In the 1970s, a YMCA was set up on Tyler Street on Parcel R-1 in a supposedly temporary structure that became known as "the bubble." That "temporary" YMCA was the community's main recreational facility for nearly three decades.

Land Swaps and Development Rights
In the late 1980s, the Chinatown community worked with the Boston Redevelopment Authority on the first neighborhood master plan.  The plan named affordable housing as a top priority and listed five public parcels as target development sites: Parcel R-1, Parcel B (now Oak Terrace), Parcel A (site of the proposed new Josiah Quincy Upper School campus), Parcel C (now the Metropolitan), Posner Lot/P-2 (current site of Asian American Civic Association and Kwong Kow Chinese School), and Parcel 12 (proposed site of the 288 Tremont Street project). 
In the 1990s, both the institutions and social service agencies based in Chinatown were expanding and looking for additional space. Tufts University had been given the development rights to the P-2/Posner Lot, while Parcel R-1 was occupied by the YMCA. A series of negotiations resulted in a 1997 agreement. Tufts received development rights to Parcel R-1, Chinatown agencies received rights to the P-2 Posner Lot for construction of a community educational center, and the new YMCA was built as part of the Double Tree Hotel project with additional funds from Tufts. 

A Call to Return the Land
From 1996 on, Tufts University and the hospital leased Parcel R-1 for use as a parking lot while retaining the option to purchase and development. This agreement was renewed several times, until the community began to organize and call for the land to be returned to community use.
In 2016, the Chinatown Community Land Trust, Chinatown Resident Association, and Chinese Progressive Association organized a postcard campaign calling for an end to the 20-year arrangement and for community development of Parcel R-1.  Chinatown CLT initiated a series of community visioning meetings and worked with urban planning students on a 2017 feasibility study that proposed returning R-1 to the community for both short term use and long term development.  As Tufts University's agreement reached its expiration that year, the institutions, the City, and the community reached agreement that Tufts University would give up its development rights in exchange for a year-by-year lease so that the land could be developed for community priorities.
In a series of community visioning meetings organized by Chinatown CLT, residents and community members named affordable housing, a community garden or green space, recreational, retail and service space as important priorities.  Some also wanted resident parking spaces on R-1. In 2018, Chinatown CLT and Asian Community Development Corporation worked with graduate students to study the potential of a mixed-income development on R-1.

A Focus on Community Needs
Chinatown has many needs, including affordable housing, open space, a permanent library, and affordable small business space, but we know that not all needs can be addressed on one small parcel. That is why your participation is important—to help determine which needs are top priority in developing this parcel.
We are just at the beginning of many steps in the public process:  1) creating a vision, 2) release of a Request for Proposals, 3) developers bidding for the land, 4) selection of developer, 5) review of the project proposal for approval, and 6) groundbreaking and construction.

The Role of a Community Land Trust
Because development plans have many twists and turns, one of the best ways to ensure strong and continuous community control is through Community Land Trust ownership. This was a key purpose of founding the Chinatown CLT—to have a mechanism through which community residents can exert greater control over development. In a situation such as this, the CLT would not be the developer nor earn the developer fee; instead it would serve as a steward of the land through which residents can be at the table and ensure that it is always used for its intended purpose, whether short term or long term.
CLT ownership could be important to ensure that community priorities remain central as developers need to adjust the project when costs and financing change.  CLTs also can establish a ground lease to ensure that any affordable home ownership units remain permanently affordable under the community's watchful eye, even after public financing guidelines expire. Finally, CLTs can provide for long term participatory involvement long after construction is complete in order to build a stronger sense of community.

波士頓規劃和發展局 (BPDA, 前稱波士頓重建局) 將於11月17日在網上舉行公開會議, 討論R-1地段的未來發展, 該地段是位於泰勒街和起晨街之間的公共地段, 是前華埠青年會（YMCA）的舊址。您可以在此处获取信息并提交评论。

R-1 地段的起源

被稱為R-1地段的土地以前是許多移民和工人階級家庭的家園, 直到這些房屋和商店在市區重建期間被夷為平地。 雖然大部分城市更新用地用於修建高速公路, 但有些土地也成為醫院校園的一部分, 有些則用於建造大同村和公路村等替代房屋, 而R-1地段仍掌握在市政府手中。唐人街附近的其他公共土地則為州政府所有(如25號地段和26號地段, 其中包括黃述占公園)。

在20世紀70年代, 基督教青年會(YMCA) 在泰勒街的R-1地段建起, 這個場所被指定是屬於臨時性質的, 稱為"泡沫"。結果，這"臨時"基督教青年會（YMCA）成為近三十年來社區的主要娛樂設施。

土地交換和發展權

20世紀80年代末, 華埠社區與波士頓重建局合作, 制定了第一個社區總體規劃。 該計劃將可負擔性房屋列為發展的優先, 並列出了五個公共地段作為目標開發地點: R-1地段、B 地段(現在的華信屋)、A 地段 (擬建的新約西亞昆士高中校園用地)、C地段 (現在的信義大厦)、波斯納地段/P-2 (華美福利會及廣教學校現址) 和12號地段 (天滿街288號工程擬議地點)。

在20世紀90年代, 華埠的機構和社會服務機構都在擴大規模, 尋找更多的空間。塔夫茨大學獲得P-2/波斯納地段的發展權, 而R-1地段則由基督教青年會佔用。一系列談判導致1997年達成的協定。塔夫茨獲得了R-1地段開發權, 華埠的機構獲得了P-2波斯納地段建造社區教育中心的權利, 新的YMCA是雙樹酒店工程的一部分, 由塔夫茨提供額外資金。

呼籲歸還土地

從1996年起, 塔夫茨大學和醫院租賃了R-1地段作為停車場用途, 同時保留了購買和開發的選擇權。該協定多次續簽, 直到社區開始組織起來, 要求將土地歸還給社區使用。

2016年, 華埠社區土地信託會、華埠居民會和華人前進會組織了一個明信片運動, 呼籲結束這20年的安排, 並給予社區開發R-1地段。 華埠社區信託會發起了一系列的社區願景會議, 與城市規劃學生合作進行 2017 年的可行性研究, 建議將 R-1 歸還給社區, 用於短期使用和長期發展。 由於塔夫茨大學的協定於該年到期, 各機構、城市和社區達成協定, 塔夫茨大學將放棄開發權, 去換取以逐年計算的租約, 以便給社區按其優先選項作開發。

在華埠土地信託會組織的一系列社區願景會議上, 居民和社區成員將可負擔性房屋、社區花園或綠地、娛樂、零售和服務空間作為重要優先事項。 有些人還希望居民在R-1有常駐停車位。2018年, 華埠社區土地信託會和亞美社區發展協會與研究生合作, 研究R-1混合收入發展的潛力。

關注社區需求

唐人街有很多需求,包括可負擔的房屋、開放空間、永久圖書館和可負擔的小企業空間, 但我們知道, 並非所有需求都可以在一個小地段上解決。因此, 您的參與是非常重要, 有助於確定那些需求是開發此地段的最優先項目

我們仍在公開過程中的許多步驟的開始:1) 創建願景, 2) 發佈建議書, 3) 開發商投標土地, 4) 選擇開發商, 5) 審查項目建議書的審批, 6) 動土和興建。

社區土地信託的作用

由於發展計劃有許多變數,而確保社區強大和持續控制的最佳方法之一，就是通過社區土地信託擁有權。這是建立華埠社區信託會的關鍵目的, 即建立一個機制, 使社區居民能夠對發展施加更大的控制。在這種情況下, 華埠社區信託會不會是開發商, 也不會賺取開發商的費用; 相反地, 它將作為居民的土地管理者, 以確保土地始終用於預期的目的, 無論是短期的還是長期的。

華埠土地信託會持有土地管理權是非常重要，因為當開發商因成本和融資方面發生變化而需要調整工程項目時，該會仍能確保以社區的優先選項為主體。 華埠土地信託會還可以建立土地租賃,以確保任何可負擔的住房單位在社區的監控下成為永久可負擔的住房, 即使在公共融資準則到期之後。最後, 華埠土地信託會可以在建築完成後繼續作長期參與, 以建立更強的社區意識。