 The center in April 2017 | |||||||||||
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| Location | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 33°27′18″N 111°59′19″W / 33.4551°N 111.9885°W | ||||||||||
| Address | 669 N. 44th Street | ||||||||||
| Opening date | December 1998 | ||||||||||
| Closing date | 2018 | ||||||||||
| Developer | BNU Corporation, a subsidiary of COFCO | ||||||||||
| Owner | COFCO | ||||||||||
| Architect | Cornoyer-Hedrick | ||||||||||
| No. of anchor tenants | 1 | ||||||||||
| Total retail floor area | 160,000 sq ft (15,000 m2) | ||||||||||
| No. of floors | 2 | ||||||||||
| Public transit access | Valley Metro | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 鳳凰城中國文化中心 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 凤凰城中国文化中心 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Phoenix Chinese Cultural Center | ||||||||||
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The Chinese Cultural Center (Chinese: 鳳凰城中國文化中心), now the Outlier Center, was a Chinese-themed retail complex in Phoenix, Arizona. It was developed in 1997 by BNU Corporation, a subsidiary of COFCO, a Chinese state-run enterprise and the country's largest food processor, manufacturer and trader.[1] Although the center was developed as a for-profit investment by its owners, it was portrayed as a "cultural center" for the Chinese community in the greater Phoenix area. The developers thought the traditional Chinese architecture and landscaping, its concentration of Chinese-related businesses, and its use as a venue for celebrating Chinese holidays would attract both tourists and local Asian-Americans, and make Chinese business people feel more at home and welcome in Phoenix, thus helping Phoenix attract more foreign investment. The center opened in 1998 with visual elements imported from China and installed by Chinese craftsmen. It struggled with low occupancy, suffered further during the recession of the mid-2000s, and never recovered. In 2017, a new owner announced the property would be repurposed as a modern office building and the distinctive Chinese roof would be removed. This led to a sustained multi-year effort by the Chinese-American community to block the redevelopment and preserve the center as it was built. Despite demonstrations, petitions, lobbying, and several lawsuits, the new owner ultimately prevailed and all Chinese elements were gone by 2022.