A year from now, Phase 1 of the Asian American Resource Center, which will cater to Austin's growing Asian-American community that now comprises 6.3 percent of the total population, will fill what is now low-cropped grass on Cameron Road just north of US 183.

"This construction of the Asian American Resource Center, like the Carver Museum and Cultural Center and the Mexican American Cultural Center before it, is a reflection of our community values. And we have a lot to be proud of. We are keeping it weird, we are keeping it prosperous and we are keeping it diverse," said Lesley Varghese, the recently appointed executive director of the center, at the ground breaking ceremony March 29.

The idea for the project came about in the 1994, Varghese said. In 2001, council passed a resolution to find a site, and in 2006, voters approved $5 million in bonds to go toward building the center, which also received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Economic Development.

The center will have a lobby, exhibition hall, an assembly hall for 500–600 people, classrooms, offices, a kitchen and a meditation garden.

Phases 2 and 3—for which funding has not been identified—will have an entry plaza, a performance hall, a main street, library and an economic center.

"This is not just a recreation center, a place where people come to meet each other and greet each other, certainly it is that, but it will be a center for people from all over the world to come interact with local people in the Asian community here," Mayor Lee Leffingwell said.