Higher Education

Asian American Resource Center Master Plan

In 2006, the Network of Asian American Organizations (NAAO) engaged Broaddus & Associates to prepare a new master plan for the Asian American Resource Center (AARC) in Austin, Texas. The AARC vision was born of Asian American leaders in the Austin metropolitan area, who conducted a needs survey in order to determine community interest and support. Its findings became the basis of the AARC project. NAAO successfully worked with the City of Austin to pass a City Ordinance to establish the Asian American Resource Center Advisory Board as an entity to bring forward the public opinions of this project.

Broaddus & Associates led a consultant consulting team comprised of Bercy Chen Studio, ERO International, TIP Strategies, Raymond Chan & Associates, and J. Robert Anderson. This team worked closely with NAAO’s AARC Sub-Committee, which subsequently evolved into the Asian American Resource Center organization, an independent, not-for-profit organization.

The Broaddus team engaged the AARC, the City’s AARC Advisory Board, the NAAO, and the broader Austin community in a collaborative planning process, which resulted in a plan to assist the Asian American community in realizing its shared vision. The new ground-up campus master plan included a Reception Center, classroom buildings, meeting facilities, an economic center, an amphitheatre, exhibit and meeting rooms, a performance hall, and on-site stormwater management.

The process involved four public community workshops hosted at State of Texas and City of Austin facilities, as well as numerous group and individual meetings with key stakeholders willing to contribute value to the plan outcomes. With the facilitation of our firm, the result was a comprehensive plan that complied with the mission for an important cultural resource in the local community.