Yu Chiu Kwan had lived in a small rent-controlled apartment at 53 Columbus Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown for 20 years when he received an eviction notice in 1998. His was one of 17 primarily low-income, monolingual Chinese-American families that faced displacement to make way for City College of San Francisco’s new Chinatown campus.
Although Mr. Kwan had been a geologist and engineer in China, he worked in manufacturing because he did not speak English. The job did not pay much, and the prospect of moving his family out of the low-cost apartment in Chinatown was daunting. “We were very confused and worried,” Mr. Kwan said. “We didn’t know what to do… Chinatown made me feel safe.”
After an 11-year struggle in partnership with fellow residents and nonprofit organizations, Mr. Kwan, now 72, not only lives in the same unit but is president of the Columbus United Cooperative, the first affordable housing co-op in Chinatown and the first in the city to use a “land trust model.” Residents own and manage the property collectively, and the San Francisco Community Land Trust (SFCLT) owns the land to ensure the building remains affordable housing.
In a neighborhood facing development pressures, the model has provided housing security for residents, many of whom are dependent on Chinatown’s linguistic and cultural networks. “Generations in the future…will still have ownership and be able to stay here,” said Ru Mei Peng, 63, a resident-owner. “Not afraid of being evicted – that is very important.”
Community partners helped residents fight the eviction for eight years until they convinced City College to sell the property in 2006. According to Mr. Kwan, homeownership was “hard to dream of in the past” in a neighborhood where few own a home – especially for low-income immigrants facing eviction. “For the Chinese, we believe when you get there, you settle your roots… To own a place for ourselves is very important,” he said.
Residents’ quality of life has improved significantly in their new homes, following renovations using “green” building techniques with the support of public and private funding. Upgrades to the previously dilapidated property improved units and community spaces, seismic and fire safety, and accessibility for disabled and elderly residents.
With the help of SFCLT and the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC), residents participated actively throughout the process and are moving towards complete self-governance. The new model has strengthened community ties, according to Mr. Kwan. “Since the cooperative was formed, my relationship with the other families has been much more united, and we’re much more happy,” he said.
The resident board is already considering new initiatives, like programs for children and the elderly. “I can see that in the future they will become leaders, as we go on and continue nurturing that,” said Cathie Lam, Senior Community Organizer at CCDC.
The Columbus United Cooperative pioneers a promising strategy for preserving affordable housing in San Francisco, where market pressures are strong despite the recession, according to Amy Beinart, Executive Director of SFCLT. It may now be easier to help low-income residents stay in affordable housing and become homeowners, after SFCLT worked with city officials to adjust regulations and create new funding sources to support conversion of rental housing to cooperatives. “This is a really important strategy for neighborhood preservation and working against displacement and gentrification of low-income communities by retaining existing low-income residents,” Beinart said.
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The Columbus United Cooperative emerged from years of collaboration
among residents and the following community partners:
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