How Social Fabric Brings Denver’s Asian Community Together

Annie Guo VanDan has spent her entire adulthood spotlighting Colorado’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community. In 2006, the now 39-year-old Aurora resident—whose family immigrated to Colorado from Taiwan in 1987—and her mother, Christina Yutai Guo, founded Asian Avenue Magazine, a monthly print and online publication covering local topics from restaurant openings to politics. Three years later, the tiny outfit blossomed into the Colorado Asian Culture and Education Network (CACEN), a nonprofit with a mission to encourage cultural exchange through networking events, sports camps for Asian youth, and anti-harassment workshops.

But VanDan’s dream of opening a physical space dedicated to her community felt out of reach—until now. Through donations and grants, including $1 million from the Colorado Health Foundation, CACEN was able to purchase a former warehouse near the Centennial Airport—a neighborhood that was imperative to VanDan because it has the highest concentration of Asian residents in the state.

This spring, the organization soft-launched Social Fabric, a community hub. “I think about the trajectory of my career,” VanDan says, “and it feels like all roads have led to this.”

Designed to foster connection, the 7,200-square-foot multipurpose center will act as the group’s event headquarters (think: clothing swaps, food festivals, and yoga classes). The building also includes a co-working area, featuring shared desks, private pods, and conference rooms, as well as an exhibition space. (Currently on view: Colorado Asian Pacific United’s history of Denver’s Chinatown, a large stretch of Denver that was destroyed in an 1880 race riot.) Once CACEN receives additional funding, Kevin Nguyen (who owns Denver’s Regular Architecture and designed RiNo’s Hop Alley and Beckon, among other chic local restaurants) will dress the interiors with warm wood accents, plush couches, and live plants.

Though many of Social Fabric’s amenities appeal to adults, VanDan also envisions it as a haven for youngsters to play Pokémon and celebrate birthdays—the type of hangout she longed for as a teenager growing up on the Front Range. And she hopes the center’s open-door policy will help members of an often-disregarded demographic feel at home in Denver. “We’re your neighbors—we’re in your school, your workplace,” VanDan says. “But a lot of times we don’t feel visible in Colorado. So this is a space for us to be seen and to shine.”

4 Ways Social Fabric Weaves Together a Range of Interests

 

1. Foodies

The on-site cafe hosts rotating, primarily Asian-owned food and drink vendors. Stop by now for a black sesame latte and a sando from Onto Coffee.

2. Fitness Fanatics

Thanks to a $10,000 grant, Social Fabric purchased three stationary bikes that each generate 100 watts of clean energy for the building per hourlong workout.

3. CEOs

Social Fabric boasts six dedicated office spaces for health care practitioners, nonprofits, clubs, and businesses looking for permanent HQs.

4. Bookworms

At the center’s library, bibliophiles can check out more than 200 donated novels, cookbooks, and other literature by AANHPI authors.