Big Trouble In Little Tokyo

[Mulboyne]

[Aho Kun]

[2triky]

Well this is an unfortunate development.

[Charles]

Well now this is appalling. I used to live just 2 blocks from there, and it was my local mall, I remember how happy I was that there was a huge mall I could walk to.
There are tons of Korean grocery stores in LA, but virtually no Japanese ones, other than Mitsuwa. But then, Mitsuwa Plaza (formerly Yaohan Plaza) has been on the decline for many years. I remember the turning point, when Little Tokyo Bowl closed. My friends and I used to go bowling there often. I looked at the current list of tenants, I hardly recognized anything except Ginza-ya Bakery, my girlfriend used to love their bread, and I loved their pastries (even though we could hardly afford it, being starving artists). And what happened to the bookstore? I think it was Asahiya Shoten, or maybe Kinokuniya.
But I don't think it's legal to evict the current tenants. From what I know of tenant landlord law in California (a LOT, for reasons I won't get into) a new owner can't evict a current tenant unless they intend to move into that space, and no other spaces in the building are suitable. So perhaps they will not permit current tenants to renew their leases when they expire, but if they want to get rid of everyone, there will probably be a fight. Hell, there's going to be a fight anyway.

[xenomorph42]

That is so sad, really sad. Growing up in LA, that area has a lot of rich history and great memories, such a tragedy, but the Koreans are so powerful and are just exploding and expanding out of their community. In the neighborhood I grew up in was a predominately mixed area, hispanic, blacks and had a quite large jewish population, but within the last 10 years, the korean population just bought out everything, now the whole city area looks like Busan. The only thing that tickles me is when they buy out and sell Japanese foods and give the illusion that the cuisine is authentic Japanese. For the less informed this trick might work, but for people with enough experience with Japanese cuisine, they find out quickly what the differences are. You want to indulge in real Japanese cuisine, you will need to use plastic(in most cases)on the other hand, if you don't care, than you can go to a Korean/Japanese sushi restaurant and eat real cheap food, but usually the quality is just crappy. Little Tokyo had style, culture and class, but now it will be replaced by the Koreans who couldn't care less about Japanese products and just use and sell everything quickly and as cheap as they can. A piece of history gone. Very sad, indeed.

[TennoChinko]

Ha! Well, there goes the neighborhood......!

[Mulboyne]

LAT: L.A. panel recommends sale of Little Tokyo property to Japanese American group

As a multicultural wave of new investors and residents begins to reshape Little Tokyo, many community leaders are hailing a Los Angeles city recommendation to sell the last large undeveloped land parcel in the area to a development team led by Japanese Americans. The competition for the land at 1st and Alameda streets is seen as a critical test of the Japanese American community's ability to strongly influence the future development of its cultural core, the neighborhood its immigrant pioneers first settled a century ago. In recent months, several signature properties have been sold to non-Japanese owners, including the former New Otani Hotel, Japanese Village Plaza and Little Tokyo Shopping Center. Growing numbers of non-Japanese residents in the new condo and apartment buildings nearby, along with a spate of frozen yogurt, pasta, sandwich and other non-Japanese shops, are also diversifying the historic Japanese American ethnic enclave. The changes have brought the area new vitality but have also sparked anxiety among some Little Tokyo leaders and raised the stakes for control of the 4.5-acre parcel, know as the Mangrove site.

The selection panel of city and community members is expected to issue its report as early as this week outlining why it chose the Nikkei Center team, led by the Little Tokyo Service Center, Kaji & Associates, Urban Partners and others, to buy the Mangrove site. The City Council must approve the recommendation. "Not to take anything away from the other contenders, but the Little Tokyo Service Center and other partners have been longtime members in the community whom we've worked with and whom we assume will have great accountability," said Chris Aihara, chair of the Little Tokyo Community Council. The council, made up of about 100 area businesses, nonprofit agencies, religious institutions and residents, endorsed the proposal by the Nikkei Center last year.

The team has proposed a mixed-use project of housing, office space and retail that would showcase Japan's fashionable modern face of anime, fashion, design and high-tech electronics. A media court with giant outdoor screens, similar to those in Shinjuku and other hip Tokyo neighborhoods, is also envisioned. Embracing a global definition of "Nikkei" -- a word that connotes both Japanese heritage and the Japanese economy -- developers hope to recruit the sizable ethnic Japanese communities in Mexico, Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America to open shops or businesses in the center, according to Jon Kaji of Kaji & Associates, a South Bay consulting firm and Nikkei Center partner. All told, the team is proposing 390 rental units, including affordable housing, a six-story office tower, 80,000 square feet of retail space and 1,300 parking spaces. A new Gold Line light rail station under construction directly in front of the project at 1st and Alameda streets will add foot traffic to boost business, Kaji said.

Other contenders for the Mangrove property were a group led by Concerto Development and the Portland, Ore.-based firm Williams & Dame, and a team headed by developer Niemann Properties. Lapchih Fan, a Concerto Development principal, said his group was disappointed by the selection panel's decision but would not be able to evaluate it until the report is issued. Fan said his team had not appealed the decision. But the group sent a letter to the city's chief legislative analyst, Gerry F. Miller, asking that Concerto and Niemann also be allowed to present their proposals to the City Council if the Nikkei Center team changed its design, purchase price or other elements to adjust to the declining real-estate market. But Kaji said his team had no intention of scaling back its proposal, adding that it was crafted with the changing market in mind. Project members said they offered more than $40 million for the site.

If the City Council approves the Nikkei Center selection this summer, it would be the first success in a decade of failures by Japanese Americans to acquire major Little Tokyo properties. Bill Watanabe, executive director of the Little Tokyo Service Center, said his social service agency unsuccessfully approached the Japanese corporate owners of sites on 2nd Street and Central Avenue and on 2nd and San Pedro streets before the sites were sold to non-Japanese owners. One owner put an Office Depot on his site; a residential and retail project by the Related Cos. is being developed on the other. Kaji unsuccessfully bid for the Little Tokyo Shopping Center on 3rd and Alameda, which was sold to non-Japanese owners in May. The new owners have said through their real estate broker that they might convert it into a mainstream mall or a Korean themed center with a Korean market, herbal spa and electronics store.

And the sales last year of the outdoor Japanese Village Plaza and the New Otani Hotel -- since renamed the Kyoto Grand Hotel and Gardens -- occurred with little, if any, community input. The new owners have retained the properties' Japanese themes so far. With the Mangrove recommendation in hand, Little Tokyo community members say their string of setbacks might finally be over. "This is a huge endorsement," Kaji said of the selection panel's decision. "For the first time, a local Japanese American-led development group has seized the initiative to determine the future of our community."

[2triky]

Thanks for posting this article. Interesting development.

[Behan]

When we went to Little Tokyo back in the 90s we were surprised to turn a corner and see a large group of homeless guys stretched out on the sidewalk on sheets of cardboard. Maybe it was a place where day laborers waited.

But I bet it would scare Japanese tourists looking for a piece of their homeland in LA.

[2triky]

When we went to Little Tokyo back in the 90s we were surprised to turn a corner and see a large group of homeless guys stretched out on the sidewalk on sheets of cardboard. Maybe it was a place where day laborers waited.

But I bet it would scare Japanese tourists looking for a piece of their homeland in LA.

You don't see that anymore...because of the infusion of cash in the area in the form of recent real estate developments (both commerical and residential) and acquistions....

Money talks, and the homeless walk.

[Charles]

When we went to Little Tokyo back in the 90s we were surprised to turn a corner and see a large group of homeless guys stretched out on the sidewalk on sheets of cardboard. Maybe it was a place where day laborers waited.

No, that was the overflow from Skid Row. Little Tokyo developers have spent the last 25+ years trying to annex the surrounding territories of Skid Row, in an attempt to move the homeless population away. I remember back in the 1980s when the first skirmishes between the developers and the homeless started. A local black homeless activist declared, "Urban renewal means nigger removal!" Perhaps he was right, but he was found a few months later, face down in a fountain on the steps of LA City Hall, dead from drowning (and an OD of heroin).
I recently learned how the homeless population centered around Little Tokyo. Skid Row hasn't always been in downtown, that area used to be the glitzy, luxurious area of town, with all the top end entertainment and theaters. It now appears that after the Japanese were interned in WWII, the area was taken over mostly by the African-american population, and it became known as "Bronzeville." It appears that the development of a mostly-Black Skid Row evolved from that time. In the post-WWII era, the Downtown theaters moved to Hollywood, businesses fled Central Business District, and the area fell into decline, becoming mostly slums.

Anyway.. I remember in the early 1980s (under the Bradley administration) when the City decided to raze the area just north of Downtown, formerly a mostly Latino residential district, and build huge high-rises. Those buildings were mostly developed with Japanese capital during the Bubble era, but ended up being sold for pennies on the dollar when the bubble burst. This also put an end to the plan to renovate more of downtown, the money dried up. There were plans to redevelop Little Tokyo, if they could expand east. I remember one of the premium properties was on the site of the Office Depot the article mentions. I remember when that was built, it was about 2 blocks from my loft. But that property was just east of Alameda, the boundary line separating Little Tokyo from the industrial area to the east (also including the Loft District). So since the funds for big development dried up, the city switched strategies. They declared a small business development plan within a limited boundary. Downtown and Little Tokyo was covered, but nothing outside the existing boundaries. Small businesses would receive subsidies to redevelop existing properties, but no new construction. That thwarted the plans to build mega-malls like the one in this article. Well, we shall see if anything comes of the current plan.

[Mulboyne]

NAM: Does Race Play a Role in the Struggle to Save Little Tokyo?

The sale of yet another landmark in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo didn't surprise Keizo Shimamoto. The Shin Nisei from Diamond Bar, Calif. knew a different, more vibrant Nihonmachi of the past, so it wasn't a shock to hear that investors had snatched up the Little Tokyo Shopping Center and plan to change its ethnic identity. "I always expected something like this to happen, especially with the increasing Korean population living in the newly developed housing in the area," said Shimamoto, 30. The shopping center's new Korean American owners reportedly plan to convert the three-story structure located at 333 South Alameda Street into a Korean-themed or more mainstream center, the group's real estate broker told the Los Angeles Times. And almost overnight it was all about race and ethnicity - like the community's struggle to maintain its historic character became a symbol of the area's interethnic tension. An article in the Los Angeles Business Journal attempted to illustrate the friction with its headline, "Sushi to Kimchi." And Angelenic.com took it a step further with their online entry titled, "Little Seoul Mall? New owners to evict Japanese businesses."

But for many community members like Shimamoto, it wasn't a surprise that the once thriving shopping center - a monolithic gray structure better known as its old name Yaohan Plaza - needed a change. The once popular destination has become a shadow of its former self with seemingly more vacant retail space and "For Lease" signs than patrons. Seeing the shopping center return to its glory would be nice, said Shimamoto, but not at the cost of abolishing its Japanese roots. On the heels of other controversial landmark sales in both Los Angeles' and San Francisco's J-Towns, many see this sale as another possible threat to Little Tokyo's identity. But how big of a role does race really play in the current struggle for space?

Spotlight on Ethnicity

In business, sales like these happen all the time, said Shimamoto. "To sit here and say that it is totally unacceptable for this Korean American company to come in and do what they want with the plaza they purchased would be a bit selfish don't you think?" In the last few years, JA community members have grappled with shifting identities. 3D Investment, a private Beverly Hill, Calif.-based real estate developer, scooped up holdings in both Los Angeles' and San Francisco's J-Towns. Coffee giant Starbucks was prevented from inhabiting space between San Francisco's manju and origami paper shops. But in Los Angeles, Starbucks anchors Little Tokyo in two spots. In between, other retail chains like Subway and Pinkberry have also staked their claim. The shopping center's $35.5 million sale is like an extra straw on the camel's back, said Bill Watanabe, executive director of the Little Tokyo Service Center. With 3D, much of the controversy focused on the company's huge presence in two of the last three J-Towns in California. Petitions were launched to demand accountability from 3D. Amidst the fray there was no mention - at least not on the surface - of 3D's ethnicity.

In contrast, the Korean heritage of the shopping center's new owners has been a focus point. "That's the worst part of this whole thing," said Craig Ishii, JACL PSW regional director. "Everyone is saying, 'did you hear that the mall was bought out by Koreans?' When in reality people should be saying, 'did you hear the mall was bought out?'" With 3D, the focus was not on ethnicity but on their commitment to the community, said Ishii. "It should be the same for this situation as well." But Watanabe said ethnicity is not a factor here either. Developer Richard Meruelo, who bought the shopping center in 2000, was not JA. "It's the same concern the community had back then - will [the new owners] be sensitive to the community?" And so far, the new owners have been far from sensitive.

The group apparently refused to identify itself publicly and announced plans to possibly convert the plaza's ethnic identity through its real estate agent in a newspaper article. "We were surprised," said Chris Aihara, chair of the Little Tokyo Community Council. 
"We're hoping to have an opportunity to sit down and talk with the new owners and give them some background on Little Tokyo." Representatives from Coldwell Bankers Commercial did not respond to the Pacific Citizen's request for comment. The move also left many tenants wondering about their future in the shopping center. Other than an official notice about where to send the rent check, Frances Hashimoto has not heard from the new owners. Hashimoto owns Mikawaya, a Japanese pastry shop located in front of Mitsuwa Market on the shopping center's first floor. She worries about Little Tokyo's cultural identity. "I welcome all the new residents and businesses regardless of their ethnicity but this area has been Little Tokyo for 124 years," said Hashimoto. "In a diverse Los Angeles, being Little Tokyo makes this area unique and identifiable. Why would anyone try to change that?"

Korean Americans in J-Towns

Korean American presence in J-Towns is nothing new. Today, Korean American businesses share space in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Many of the Korean Americans who have bought the properties in J-Towns are post-1965 immigrants, said Dr. Sachiko Kotani from Kyoto University. Kotani, who researched the role of Korean Americans in San Francisco's J-Town, also attributes the trend to Korea's postcolonial association with Japan. Although most of today's Korean American business owners are not directly influenced by Japan's past colonization of Korea, Kotani found that linguistic and cultural familiarity with Japan have been passed onto the next generations. "So, I am seeing Korean merchants in Japantown as deterritorializing and reterritorializing postcolonial agents who are part of constructing the world's contemporary Japanese marketing space," said Kotani.
Korean tenants she interviewed in San Francisco's Nihonmachi said they wanted to do business in J-Town, but had no intention of changing its symbolic images to take over the space. "One of their repeated phrases was 'Japantown is Japantown,'" said Kotani. The trend will continue, she said about Korean Americans in J-Towns. But other new trends are burgeoning in the JA communities - including the multicultural draw of Japanese pop culture like Anime to preserve and revitalize J-Towns.


Preserving Nihonmachi

"I think it's complicated honestly," said Aihara about the role of race in the shopping center sale. "There is a deep relationship ... there are a lot of shared experiences both positive and strained." But other businesses in Little Tokyo have changed ownership very quietly over the years including the Japanese Village Plaza, which was purchased last year by Malibu-based American Commercial Equities. "I think change is here. Little Tokyo is a more multicultural community with new tenants and residents that are not Japanese. But there it's still an important historical neighborhood with a lot of meaning," said Aihara.

The small community has a lot of personal meaning for Sansei Jenni Kuida, whose connection stretches back to post-war Little Tokyo when her father's family returned from the Gila River internment camp to find their farmhouse torn down. They lived at Koyasan Buddhist Temple for three weeks. Now Kuida is a constant presence in Little Tokyo. She works here, plays here and sends her daughter Maiya Kuida-Osumi to a nearby preschool to learn JA culture, and occasionally walks down First Street for a mochi indulgence at the 105-year-old Fugetsu-Do. J-Town goes hand in hand with what it means to be Japanese American, said Kuida. "And even if we don't live in Little Tokyo, it is still meaningful and symbolizes a part of my family's and the community's history; and that's kind of what I want to share with my daughter, Maiya."

Although the shopping center is a part of Little Tokyo, its isolated location on the corner of Third and Alameda Streets has also made it exempt from the city's Community Redevelopment Agency design guidelines - which requires buildings in this neighborhood to reflect its historic JA theme. Community leaders are working with the city to create a Community Design Overlay (CDO) that may include the site of the shopping center, said Karen Yamamoto of the Community Redevelopment Agency. But the proposed CDO would likely not be put in place until 2010, added Aihara. 
For now, community leaders say they are in a wait-and-see mode with the new shopping center's owners. "We are going to invite them to come to community forums," said Watanabe. "We'll start there. If they blow us off then we'll go from there."

[2triky]

[Charles]

..an anchor electronics retailer would be brought in as well, a first for Downtown.

Wha?

There's an electronics retailer 1 block from Little Tokyo Mall.

[2triky]

Wha?

There's an electronics retailer 1 block from Little Tokyo Mall.

Hehe.

Indeed. But, as I'm sure you're well aware, they intend to perhaps lure one of the big box stores like Best Buy or what have you...not more of the discount variety such as ol' man Gideon.

[IkemenTommy]

Wha?

There's an electronics retailer 1 block from Little Tokyo Mall.

Funny shit.
The guy almost looks like Robert DeNiro on crack.

[pheyton]

Going up to Torrance today. While things are too spread out there, it's a hell of a lot better than going into downtown LA.

I say let them have LA. LA is such a shit hole. And last time I was in Little Tokyo for Obon there were a ton of homless, crackheads on the streets behind Little Tokyo. They are trying to redevelop it, but I'm not sure how successful they will be. Koreans did the same thing in San Francisco Japan town. Half the businesses are Korean now.

Little Tokyo should be moved to either Torrance or Costa Mesa. We have huge amounts of Japanese in both cities and tons of authentic Japanese businesses. Torrance has all the major industrial companies, while Costa Mesa has the smaller Mom & Pops places and the colleges. Ah, we have South Cost Plaza Mall too. Home of all the Uber brands that Japanese love to splurge on. Costa Mesa has Mitsuwa, Book Off, Marukai and some of the best damn Japanese cuisine in California at Kappo Honda, Ikko and Murasaki.

[IkemenTommy]

Little Tokyo should be moved to either Torrance or Costa Mesa. We have huge amounts of Japanese in both cities and tons of authentic Japanese businesses. Torrance has all the major industrial companies, while Costa Mesa has the smaller Mom & Pops places and the colleges. Ah, we have South Cost Plaza Mall too. Home of all the Uber brands that Japanese love to splurge on.

You said Uber..

But you're right about South Coast Plaza being overrun by the exclusive Japan brands (chanel, LV, etc) and Costa Mesa probably being a better location for Japan town than what was used to be the downtown barrio.

Costa Mesa has Mitsuwa, Book Off, Marukai and some of the best damn Japanese cuisine in California at Kappo Honda, Ikko and Murasaki.

Haven't been there in a while, but Ikko?

[Charles]

Little Tokyo should be moved to either Torrance or Costa Mesa..

You can't move history. Read upthread about the complex history of Little Tokyo/Bronzeville, it explains the reason why Little Tokyo exists next to Skid Row. It's never going to move, not unless you can move the Buddhist temple, the JACCC and its Noguchi plaza, and the JA National Museum.

And no cranking on Obon either. My company used to sponsor Obon events for the little kids. Little Tokyo does not live or die on how gaijin perceive the area or its little rituals, its for the nihonjin.

[Catoneinutica]

You said Uber..

But you're right about South Coast Plaza being overrun by the exclusive Japan brands (chanel, LV, etc) and Costa Mesa probably being a better location for Japan town than what was used to be the downtown barrio.

South Coast Plaza has pretty much always been that way, hasn't it? I remember stopping by on a trip from Seattle in '95 and seeing brands like Hermes that I'd hitherto been completely unaware of - and for which there didn't even exist retail outlets at the time in Seattle ("Cleveland-by-the-Sea" as it was back then).

[2triky]

Apparently not all new development in Little Tokyo will erode its cultural identity. I guess this should go to some length to preserve the Japanese character of the ethnic enclave.

===================================



Last Friday (8/15), the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved the selection of the Nikkei Center team of Little Tokyo Service Center, Kaji & Associates and Urban Partners and their proposal for the development of the First and Alameda site known as the Mangrove parcel.

The City Council authorized the Chief Legislative Analyst to enter into an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with the Nikkei Center team that will define the terms of the sale in much greater detail. The team and the CLA's office estimate the final terms of the sale, including the general development scope and schedule, will be completed by next spring.

Ron Fong, Director of Planning at LTSC, remarked on the opportunity to participate in the development of the last sizable piece of land in Little Tokyo. "We accept and welcome the responsibility of being accountable to community stakeholders for every aspect of this project--including its design and community benefits such as affordable housing, parking, job creation and business development opportunities."


Aerial view of proposed development site:

[2triky]

[pheyton]

You said Uber..

But you're right about South Coast Plaza being overrun by the exclusive Japan brands (chanel, LV, etc) and Costa Mesa probably being a better location for Japan town than what was used to be the downtown barrio.


Haven't been there in a while, but Ikko?

Well, Ikko is a high end Fish shop so....

Charles, of course I know the history of Little Tokyo and I have been to the temple there several times. I'd just like to be able to visit a little Tokyo where I don't have to look over my shoulder, a place to bring my family. Maybe they can just leave little Tokyo alone and make a little Osaka down here? Little Nagoya?

[IkemenTommy]

What do you think?

How lovely! Less green and just more gray concrete like back home.

[2triky]

The following money has been appropriated in the year-end spending bill passed by Congress:

- $4,000,000 to construct the Go For Broke National Education Center and provide for the historical preservation of artifacts related to the Asian American veterans who fought in the 442nd Regiment during WWII. It will complete development around the Go For Broke Monument in Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles.

As you many of you may know the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, consisting mostly of Japanese-Americans, is single most decorated unit in the history of the United States military.

[2triky]

How lovely! Less green and just more gray concrete like back home.

Well it's better than the asphalt parking lot that currently occupies the space. I'd like to follow the development and see what actually transpires.

[Charles]

The following money has been appropriated in the year-end spending bill passed by Congress:

- $4,000,000 to construct the Go For Broke National Education Center and provide for the historical preservation of artifacts related to the Asian American veterans who fought in the 442nd Regiment during WWII. It will complete development around the Go For Broke Monument in Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles.

As you many of you may know the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, consisting mostly of Japanese-Americans, is single most decorated unit in the history of the United States military.

Oh ferchrissake, $4mil? That is ridiculous. What do they need a whole separate museum for, when the JANM is right there already? The 442-ers were activists to set up the JANM and now they're not satisfied with an exhibit in the museum they built, they want $4mil for their own building?
Sure they deserve a monument. I'll build and install one for $100k. But $4Mil could be used for a lot better things than a museum about a bunch of old dead soldiers. And besides, this is a slap in the face of the issei, a deliberate insult by the nissei, which is a long story I won't get into.

[2triky]

Oh ferchrissake, $4mil? That is ridiculous. What do they need a whole separate museum for, when the JANM is right there already? The 442-ers were activists to set up the JANM and now they're not satisfied with an exhibit in the museum they built, they want $4mil for their own building?
Sure they deserve a monument. I'll build and install one for $100k. But $4Mil could be used for a lot better things than a museum about a bunch of old dead soldiers. And besides, this is a slap in the face of the issei, a deliberate insult by the nissei, which is a long story I won't get into.

A momument already exists apparently...I'm not quite sure what the appropriation is for but I'm sure there must be some building construction contemplated.

[Charles]

A momument already exists apparently...I'm not quite sure what the appropriation is for but I'm sure there must be some building construction contemplated.

Yeah, I did a little research and found the location, it's in the middle of a parking lot. The Google Map says it's on "N. Central Ave." but that's actually a pedestrian walkway in front of the LA MOCA museum. The "monument" is the little round thing in the middle of this sea of cars:



This ridiculous object is displacing dozens of parking spots. Little Tokyo needs parking spaces more than it needs more stupid monuments (like the "Friendship Knot").
If they want to really preserve and promote the memory of the old 442, they should make a movie. Oh wait..

[2triky]

Yeah, I did a little research and found the location, it's in the middle of a parking lot. The Google Map says it's on "N. Central Ave." but that's actually a pedestrian walkway in front of the LA MOCA museum. The "monument" is the little round thing in the middle of this sea of cars:



This ridiculous object is displacing dozens of parking spots. Little Tokyo needs parking spaces more than it needs more stupid monuments (like the "Friendship Knot").
If they want to really preserve and promote the memory of the old 442, they should make a movie. Oh wait..

Parking is becoming more scarce to be sure but that certainly hasn't stopped any of the recent development in the area...almost every new residential or mixed use development that has gone up in the area was built on what used to be a parking lot. The gentrification of downtown and the immediate surrounding area is still in full swing it seems.