Charlotte’s Southeast Asian immigrants open a community center

A coalition of Charlotteans from Southeast Asia have banded together to open what is believed to be the first nonprofit Asian-American community center in the Carolinas.

The center, which opened Saturday, is located at the Asian Corner Mall in the 4500 block of North Tryon Street. It is operated by the Southeast Asian Coalition, a nonprofit that acts on behalf of the city’s fast-growing Asian-American population.

“SEAC was founded in 2012 with the belief that more needed to be done for and by Asian Americans in the Southeast,” according to a statement released by the group. “For the last six years, SEAC has worked out of coffee shops, public libraries, sublet offices, to most recently sharing space with a nail supply shop. … We have now secured a home.”

The new community center opens at a time when Asian-Americans are one of the fastest-growing demographics in the city. There are 11,300 people from Southeast Asia living in the community, according to data released by Charlotte, and more than half of them are from Vietnam.

The new community center is opening in a part of the city that is rapidly growing, as development moves north of uptown. It is a part of the city that is popular with immigrants.

This story was originally published February 26, 2018 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Charlotte’s Southeast Asian immigrants open a community center."