AUSTIN, Texas - The city’s Asian-American community is growing and fast.
“From like 2 percent twenty years ago to now, it’s almost 8 percent in the Austin area,” says Victoria Li from the Network of Asian American Organizations.
To accommodate the community, the city opened the Asian American Resource Center—a place for education, and celebration - but in those three years since it opened, demand for its use has grown.
“The usage of the center is the highest in the city of any of the activity centers,” says Channy Soeur.
The main facility only takes up four out of the 14 acres of the property, but there are plans to develop what’s left.
“The preliminary input from our community is for some senior centers. A lot of our seniors are first-generation immigrants,” says Li.
Advocates are considering three possibilities to take to city council - including a partnership between the city and private developers but it’s not just about meeting high demand.
“Open up other arenas - arenas such as commerce, arenas such as other initiatives that the council comes up with. Issues like affordability,” says Soeur.
Census data shows Austin has the ninth largest Asian-American community in the country.