Chinatown Houston Renovation
Project News Release
Dec. 2,
2005
Held @
MetroBank Headquarters in Houston, Texas |
中國服飾
The Asian
American Business Council (AABC) held a news conference
today to discuss the project of renovating Houston
Chinatown along Bellaire Blvd. in southwest Houston. The
news conference today discussed three issues that needs
to be addressed to make Chinatown a tourist attraction.
The three issues are:
-
Security
-
Beautification
-
Promotion
Security
- Houston Chinatown will get increased security. A
security guard in a marked vehicle will patrol the
streets of Chinatown from Diho Square west to Beltway 8
and north to Harwin Rd from 10am to 9pm, 7 days a week.
Property owners as well will increase their shopping
center parking lot lightings and install cameras to help
deter crime. The AABC will need private donations to
fund this entire security section of the project. It
hopes that businesses as well as Houston City Council
will contribute to this project.
Beautification - Talks have begun in making
Chinatown more eye pleasing and cleaner. Plants and
flowers will be planted in the median of Bellaire Blvd.
going east of Beltway 8. There will be remodeling of
certain shopping centers, some of which have already
begun. Houston Chinatown signs are also in the works to
let visitors and tourists know about the area.
Promotion - Promoting Houston Chinatown and
getting people to come using online and print methods.
Houston Chinatown Web Portal is the main source to
attracting people and promoting Houston's Chinatown.
This promotional stage is still developing as the first
two steps are being implemented.
We have all
talked about bringing the Olympics and world events to
Houston. Making Houston's Asian community a major
attraction will definitely help us in the long run.
Compared to cities like LA and NYC, we have a huge Asian
population as well, but we lack the image and name. This
is what the Asian American Business Council is trying to
fix and this is why we need investments and donations to
fund this project.
Kenneth Li
of Century 21 Southwest, president of the Asian American
Business Council, speaks about the Houston Chinatown
Renovation Project. On hand were members of the business
council from various Asian property owners and banks.
President of
MetroBank, David Tai talks at the news conference about the need for private donations as
well as from the City Council to help fund the project.
Making Houston Chinatown a tourist attraction will
benefit everyone involved.
About the Asian American
Business Council
A group of local commercial
properties owners and developers, bankers and business owners initiated a
non-profit organization, with the goals to:
1.
Improve the safety and coordinate the existing security;
2.
Beautify the area;
3.
Promote SW Chinatown/ New Chinatown to attract more businesses opportunities.
The first organization meeting
was held at Hilton Garden Inn on August 30, 2005 and there were more than thirty
participants from local real estate developers, real estate companies, banks,
business owners and chamber of commerce to set up the goals, committees, and
pledge more than $50,000 to start this program. Asian American Business Council,
Inc. (AABC) was formed and the initial 9 board members were elected to serve
with Mr. Dake Wang from Law Office of Lai & Associates as legal council and
Anthony Choy, CPA as the accounting advisor. The 9 board members are as follows:
Names (alphabetical
order) Property/ Business/
Organization
Leeshan Birney
Stone Mountain Properties
Jackson Chang
Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce
Michael Chien Dun Huang Group
Michael Koo Chinese Community Center
Andy
Lai Law Office of Lai & Associates,
P.C.
C. K.
Lee Southwestern National Bank
Kenneth Li Diho Square/ Century 21
Southwest
Shao
Li Shi Wise Union
David
Tai MetroBank
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