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Little Tokyo's new project drawing opposition
A newly-proposed building project in Little Tokyo is drawing opposition from residents and businesses in the area.
LOS ANGELES - The residents and small business owners in Little Tokyo are sounding the alarm after a $2 billion project to build apartments and a so-called mega mall passed the planning department.
It now heads to the city council for approval.
The proposed development is seven and a half acres and is estimated to cost about $2 billion. But a group and many in the area say they don't want it.
What they're saying:
"Nobody went up to the developers and said ‘you know what we want a mega mall in Little Tokyo’. Anybody say that. I didn’t," exclaimed David Monkawa with Little Tokyo against Gentrification.
Some might argue the promise of a compound with apartments, shops, offices and restaurants is appealing and would bring jobs and needed housing to the area. But of 1,589 rental units… there are just 249 affordable units. And people say that is not nearly enough.
"Anything that’s going to affect our day-to-day traffic, air quality, noise quality, everything, it's just not going to be good for the community," said Little Tokyo resident Nancy Uyeda.
The history of Little Tokyo stretches back to the early 1900s. Pre-World War II, Little Tokyo occupied multiple blocks in downtown LA; but that's not the case anymore.
"This place has been cut back 75% and subsequent to that, on and on and on slowly amputated," stated Monkawa.
In recent years, small businesses struggled to survive… and many closed or moved out.
Rafu Busan has operated in Little Tokyo for 70 years. A mega construction project a mere two blocks away could gum up traffic and add one more challenge Tanita might not survive.
"With the tariffs and all these other challenges, protests are great, social unrest, but when there's other elements that start affecting us, our customers stay away too because they’re scared," said shop owner Carol Tanita.
The other side:
The 4th and Central project has support from a coalition of homeless advocates who say 20% of the rental units will go towards affordable housing along with wrap-around services in an area that needs housing.
The Source: Information for this story came from interviews with David Monkawa, Nancy Uyeda, and Carol Tanita.