The Metro: State allocates $1M in funding to help revitalize Detroit’s Chinatown

The rich history of Chinatown in Detroit is often lost on those who aren’t old enough to remember.

The first Chinese immigrants began arriving in the late 1800s and by the 1930s, Detroit’s Chinatown was created just west of Downtown. Urban renewal forced the Chinatown to relocate to the corner of Peterboro and Cass. 

State Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) held a press conference on Monday to praise the $1 million in funding allocated in the Fiscal Year 2025 state budget for the nonprofit, Midtown Detroit, Inc., to revitalize the old Chinatown neighborhood. 

Interim Executive Director of Midtown Detroit, Inc. Maureen Stapleton and Board Member of the Association of Chinese Americans Richard Mui joined The Metro to discuss the organization’s restoration efforts.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Stapleton said she has many memories of House of Chung’s, a restaurant and important institution in the community.  

“House of Chung’s was one of my favorite places to go. My family, we would get dressed up and we would go down and it was a vibrant area, even in the ’70s and the ’80s,” Stapleton said. “And so we at Midtown Detroit, Inc. – understanding the need to ensure culture, but to show a diverse culture, we’re very excited to work with some community developers, and others, and Senator Chang, to ensure that we could begin to replace or redo some of the things that have been taken away over the years to ensure that the Chinese heritage continues on in our city.”

Mui says preserving historic cultural spaces is important. 

“I’m standing outside of Chung’s restaurant right now. Just looking at the changes, it’s remarkable,” he said. “You know, driving up and down Cass you see it changing.  So yeah, definitely I can see that as [a] beacon, I can see that as an attraction. I was just in Philadelphia for our national conference and they’re working to preserve that Chinatown because they’re trying to build an arena on the edges there. And I think it’s, you know, I think there’s a demand for it and it’s just a matter of kind of getting the seeds going and growing it.”

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Stapleton and Mui.

More headlines from The Metro on July 29, 2024:

• This month, the Milliken v. Bradley U.S. Supreme Court ruling turns 50 years old. It overturned a district judge’s ruling that would have desegregated Detroit’s schools by bussing students from the suburbs into the city and vice versa. Guest host Robyn Vincent reported on a story for Chalkbeat Detroit that looks back on that case and its impacts on us today. Detroit historian and journalist Ken Coleman joined the show to discuss the historical threads that led to the case. 
• On the latest episode of MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben sat down with former Democratic state Rep. Adam Zemke to discuss who Kamala Harris might pick for her vice president candidate.
• In 2023, Detroit opened a new office devoted to urban agriculture. The city believes gardeners are on the front lines of many things like rehabilitating soil often soaked in toxins from old auto plants, removing blight, or simply creating positive social interactions by rooting oneself in the food they grow. Patrice Brown recently became associate director for Detroit’s Office of Urban Agriculture. She joined the show to discuss how the office will continue to support green initiatives in the city.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.