Go For Broke CEO Mitchell T. Maki and Little Tokyo Service Center Executive Director Dean Masubayashi
The City Council approved a long-term lease with two nonprofit developers for a mixed-use project in Little Tokyo. The complex, on city land, is set to include affordable housing for veterans.
Go For Broke National Education Center and the Little Tokyo Service Center are partnering on the development, according to Urbanize, which reported on the lease deal.
The lease runs through 2056 for the project, which is at the corner of North Alameda and East Temple streets. The development partnership must submit plans to the city within 36 months.
The approval is a big step for the developers, particularly Go For Broke. The organization has for years wanted to develop an educational facility at the parking lot, but couldn’t raise enough funds and saw a previous lease agreement with the city expire. Go For Broke educates the public on the experiences of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry who served during World War II. It is based around the corner from the development site.
Go For Broke revived the project last year, partnering with Little Tokyo Service Center and adding the housing component. It has not specified the number of units. The city entered new lease negotiations last summer.
Little Tokyo Service Center is also working on a 120-150 unit project down the street, at the site of the former Umeya Rice Cake factory. [Urbanize] — Dennis Lynch