In 2011, Hester Street (HST) worked with Chhaya Community Development Corporation (Chhaya) and four other Queens-based South Asian community organizations to envision a South Asian Community Center where community, connection and culturally sensitive services could all be housed under one roof. HST facilitated a visioning process to identify the programming, resources and services essential in a South Asian Community Center, and then translated those needs into operational and physical spatial requirements.
In 2013, HST worked again with Chhaya to create a Capital Campaign Package for the development of the South Asian Community Center. Once a building and lot were identified, we worked closely with Chhaya to analyze the potential of transforming an old church building into the South Asian Community Center. We analyzed current site conditions and provided various scenarios that involved 1) minimal interior renovation, 2) substantial interior and exterior renovation and, 3) a complete redevelopment of the site. This also included a zoning and estimated cost analysis of the various scenarios. Our analysis included proposed floor plans, acquisition, construction and maintenance and operating budget scenarios.
