Celebrating Clara E. Chan Lee Residences at Lake Merritt/Chinatown BART

Mid-Construction Milestone at Lake Merritt/Chinatown BART TOD
This impactful project will bring 97 affordable homes to seniors.

We announced that this affordable housing community will be named the Clara E. Chan Lee Residences!

We heard from EBALDC CEO, Janelle Chan, Board Director, Victor Flores, and Historian, Roy Chan to learn about the impact of this newly built senior community. We can’t wait to see this project finished and residents moving in!

Who is Clara. E. Chan Lee?

In 1911, Clara was the first Chinese American woman to register to vote and did so at the Alameda County Courthouse. She was an activist in the Chinatown Community, with deep family roots in Oakland’s Chinatown, and championed women’s rights. She started the Chinese Jeleab (Self-Reliance) Association, which promoted women’s rights and self-reliance. The association worked to raise the status of women and saw education as key to acquiring freedom, independence and respect.

“Our goal is to cultivate self-reliance in each of us…to strip away the curtain that has blocked women’s view of the sky for thousands of years.”

This building’s Chinese name, 陈依妙明光大厦, combines Clara’s Chinese name, Ming Quong (Radiant Light), and Residences. Ming Quong, Radiant Light, is a nod to Clara’s community impact and the name of the Girl’s Orphanage that used to be on this site.