Quietly and without fanfare, Malden has become a city extremely successful in accomplishing a goal only a handful of other Massachusetts communities have managed to achieve.
The city is benefiting directly from business expansion decisions made by companies located in Boston, or more specifically, Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood. Sunshine Childcare operates two centers in Chinatown and owners Xuli and Ken Gervais expanded to Malden where they are undertaking more than $700,000 in renovations to their new site and plan to employ 30 employees.
That sort of investment by a Boston-based business would excite any municipal elected official and Chamber of Commerce director. But Malden Mayor Gary Christenson and the Malden Chamber of Commerce are keenly aware that Malden possesses one of the largest Asian-American populations in Massachusetts.
More than 12,000 residents — 21 percent of the city’s population — are Asian-Americans. Christenson has made sure his office is open and receptive to his city’s increasingly diverse population. Chamber members know that Asian businesses, including restaurants, are an integral part of Malden’s economy.
Like every municipality with a well thought-out prosperity plan, Malden has managed to stay out of the way of businesses considering relocation to the city even as city officials offer support for businesses committed to making a move.
Sunshine Childcare is the second established Chinatown business to expand into Malden. South Cove Community Health Center picked Malden as the site for its third center last spring. The move is significant because Boston, Quincy and Malden are the Massachusetts communities with the largest Asian-American populations and South Cove now has health facilities in all three cities.
South Cove’s presence in these communities is an acknowledgement that all three are homes to thriving and growing populations that need health services and probably will require more as residents age and families expand.
The residential and business migration from Chinatown to Malden is redefining the city and bolstering its economy. That is good news for Christenson, City Council members and the Malden Chamber because heightened interest in Malden fits into city government’s and the Chamber’s goals for the city.
Christenson with the council’s support is redefining the center of commerce and government in Malden and, in doing so, giving residents and business owners a chance to help shape the city center’s renewal.
The Chamber under Executive Director Jenna Coccimiglio’s direction sponsors events that highlight the local business community’s generosity and accent the contributions local merchants make to the city.
Coccimiglio and Chamber members understand the contribution Asian-Americans make in Malden and the importance of sustaining the city’s status as a destination for Chinatown businesses seeking to expand and serve Asian-Americans living outside Boston.
Malden’s success can be a lesson to other communities across Massachusetts.
