800 Grant Avenue to be transformed into a new Chinatown Arts and Media Center

(SAN FRANCISCO) By the efforts of Assemblymember Phil Ting to secure $26.5 million from the state budget, a commercial complex building at 800 Grant Avenue will be purchased by the state and transformed into an arts and media center in Chinatown to be opened in 2024.

Ting has served as the Chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee for six years. Under his leadership in the legislature, $26.5m has been allocated to San Francisco Chinatown to establish a new arts center among the $100 billion state budget for the new fiscal year which was recently signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Ting announced the state-funded project at the future arts center site, joined by Assemblymember David Chiu and leaders from a number of the non-profit organizations who have lobbied for the similar project in Chinatown for years.

The future arts and media center is named “Edge on the Square”. It will be housed with a centralized visitors’ center and a year-round venue for presentations, exhibits, shows and more.

"We were here when we were young. We are still hanging out here. It shows the amazing culture and history here. It is about the gateway into Chinatown. I remember meeting Ling Chi Wang here when I was a student at UC Berkeley," said Ting in the press conference. "I am honored to be the Budget Chair. I have played a small role in making it happen."

“The alarming increase in hate incidents against members of the API community tells us we must invest in ways to educate people by promoting the numerous contributions and value that APIs have brought to the fabric of California and this country, " said Ting.

The half-block long commercial building located at the corner of Grant Avenue and Clay Street is owned by Arthur Chan, a businessman and a philanthropist to the Chinese Hospital. The building has been on the market for sale for sometime.

The $26.5 million state funding will be used to purchase, renovate and re-develop the building into a contemporary media and arts center focusing on the Asian culture.

The Chinatown Media and Arts Collaborative (CMAC) was formed a few years back by six non-profit organizations to work on establishing a permanent home for an Asian culture and arts museum in Chinatown.

The six founding members of the CMAC include Chinese for Affirmative Action, the Center for Asian American Media, the Chinese Culture Center and Foundation of San Francisco, the Chinatown Community Development Center, Angel Island Immigration Foundation and the Chinese Historical Society of America.

Stephen Gong is the Chairman of the CMAC Board of Directors. Other board members are Tatwina Lee, Buch Gee, Justin Hoover, Dave Ho, Vincent Pan, Mabel Teng, Jay Xu and Malcolm Yeung.

Mabel Teng, Former Supervisor and Former Assessor, serves as the leader for the Edge on the Square project. "There will be pop-up exhibits for our artists in the future," said Teng. The center will feature contemporary works that dominate current headlines, such as social justice, climate change and racial equity.