In recent years a vibrant art community has emerged in a mixed-use and industrial neighborhood in northeastern Beijing. Artists’ studios, lofts, galleries, and bookstores have taken over the spaces of Factory 798, an old manufacturing facility built in the 1950s. Now developers have proposed that Factory 798 and its surrounding fabric be demolished and the site developed into one million square meters of residential towers, effectually threatening the livelihood of the existing community. The question is whether it is possible to fulfill the massive requirement for new housing and at the same time preserve the existing fabric of small art galleries, artists’ studios, and local community life.