Photo courtesy Asian American Resource
Photo by Lyndsey Taylor
Photo by Lyndsey Taylor
Cameron Road facility melds Asian cultures, offers amenities for entire Austin community
As the Asian population in Austin began to grow in the mid-1990s, residents started a grass-roots effort to build a community center for Asian Americans.
Advocating for a central place for the community to host events paid off. Voters approved spending $5 million on the center in 2006. In May 2013, City Council approved an ordinance to form an Asian American Resource Center advisory board.
The AARC opened in October 2013 on Cameron Road, and in one year its facilities have been rented out 259 times, said Taja Beekley, AARC culture and arts education manager.
"We often hear from community groups, 'I don't know how we were able to have all of our events before the Asian American Resource Center,'" Beekley said. "The community was really spread out, going to high schools, elementary school cafeterias, gyms [for events], so it's really great to have this single, central location for the community to come to."
