Chinatown Community Vision Plan Existing Conditions Report December 2013 Acknowledgements The Chinatown Community Vision Plan Existing Conditions Report is the cumulative effort of many individuals, including residents and stakeholders who participated in surveys, public meetings, and workshops, as well as provided time and expertise to identify community values and priorities, planning issues, and policies to help successfully complete this report. The project partners would like to thank all of the people who worked with the project team to identify and address the specific challenges and opportunities that will impact the future of Chinatown. Steering Committee Alderman Daniel Solis (Honorary Chair), 25th Ward C.W. Chan (Co-Chair), Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community Ray Chin (Co-Chair), Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, R.M. Chin & Associates, Inc. Tony Hu, Chinese American Association of Greater Chicago, Tony Gourmet Group Gene Lee, Chicago Chinatown Special Events Raymond B. Lee, Chinatown Parking Corporation Anita Luk, Chinese-American Museum of Chicago Raymond Tu, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Ernest Wong, Chinese American Service League, Site Design Group Esther Wong, Chinese American Service League David Wu, Pui Tak Center Project Partners Alderman Daniel Solis, 25th Ward Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Special Thanks James Balcer, Alderman of the 11th Ward Chicago Department of Transportation Chicago Department of Planning Advisory Committee Karen Anderson, James Ward Elementary School Alfonso Camona, Robert Healy Elementary School Phyllis Cavallone, St. Therese Chinese Catholic School Reverend Mark Chan, Chinese Christian Union Church Betty Chow, Pacific Global Bank June Coutre, John C. Haines Elementary School Kathleen Fernicola, Asian American Institute David Lee, Chinatown Chicago Alternative Policy Strategy Helen Lee, King Wah Express Ginger Lumpkin, John C. Haines Elementary School Sam Ma, Chinatown Square Association Theresa Mah, Office of Governor Quinn Dan Mark, Mark Properties Helen Moy, Chinese American Civic Council George Mui, U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency Bernie Wong, Chinese American Service League Cover photo: Mary Anne Enriquez. Chinatown, City of Chicago Community Vision Plan Existing Conditions Report Note: For all figures listed but not included within text, please refer to Appendix B: Maps. Section 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 4 Why does Chinatown need a Community Vision Plan? ................................................................... 4 Relationship with the GO TO 2040 Regional Comprehensive Plan ................................................. 5 Planning process .............................................................................................................................. 5 Section 2: Regional context of Chinatown .................................................................................................... 7 History of Chinatown ....................................................................................................................... 7 Regional setting of Chinatown ....................................................................................................... 11 Project study area ............................................................................................................. 11 Previous planning efforts ............................................................................................................... 12 Chinatown Basin Redevelopment Plan ............................................................................. 12 River South Redevelopment Plan ...................................................................................... 12 Archer Courts Redevelopment Plan .................................................................................. 13 Central Area Plan .............................................................................................................. 13 Central Area Action Plan ................................................................................................... 14 Section 3: Community engagement ............................................................................................................ 15 Steering Committee ....................................................................................................................... 15 Advisory Committee ...................................................................................................................... 16 Community engagement activities ................................................................................................ 17 Project launch ................................................................................................................... 17 Key person interviews ....................................................................................................... 18 Chinatown postcards from the future ............................................................................... 18 St. Therese Chinese Catholic Church workshop ................................................................. 18 Pui Tak Center ESL and citizenship classes ........................................................................ 18 School survey..................................................................................................................... 18 Canvassing ........................................................................................................................ 19 Business owners survey ..................................................................................................... 19 Online survey and additional community sources ............................................................ 19 Section 4: Land use and zoning ................................................................................................................... 20 Key findings .................................................................................................................................... 20 Land use ......................................................................................................................................... 20 Chinatown’s core............................................................................................................... 20 Greater Chinatown ............................................................................................................ 22 Zoning ............................................................................................................................................ 22 Residential districts ........................................................................................................... 23 Business districts ............................................................................................................... 23 Commercial districts.......................................................................................................... 24 Manufacturing districts..................................................................................................... 24 Page 1 of 63 Chinatown Existing Conditions Report Other districts.................................................................................................................... 24 Section 5: Population and housing ............................................................................................................. 25 Key findings .................................................................................................................................... 25 Demographic profile and analysis .................................................................................................. 25 Population and households ............................................................................................... 25 Race and ethnicity ............................................................................................................. 26 Origins ............................................................................................................................... 28 Age .................................................................................................................................... 29 Income and educational attainment................................................................................. 29 Language .......................................................................................................................... 30 Employment trends (of residents) ..................................................................................... 31 Housing analysis ............................................................................................................... 32 Section 6: Economic development ............................................................................................................. 36 Key findings .................................................................................................................................... 36 Employment (Chinatown jobs) ...................................................................................................... 36 Most common business types ......................................................................................................