The Fourth & Central project in Los Angeles.?

The Little Tokyo Community Council (LTCC) voted Nov. 6 to oppose the 4th & Central Project, a mega-development to be located adjacent to the Little Tokyo, Arts District and Skid Row communities.

The proposed project by Colorado-based developer Continuum Partners totals 7.6 acres and would include office space, restaurant/retail, and 1,589 residential units in 10 buildings ranging from six to 30 stories, totaling over 2,318,000 square feet of floor space.

Representing nonprofit organizations, businesses, residents and other stakeholders in Little Tokyo, LTCC’s decision took place after the release of the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning.

“For over a year, LTCC has made ongoing efforts to work in good faith with Continuum Partners, the City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning, and representatives of Council District 14 to reach a project proposal that LTCC could support,” said Kristin Fukushima, executive director of LTCC. “We shared our concerns with Continuum Partners and the council district, and Continuum Partners reneged on their commitment to better engage the Little Tokyo community.

“Instead of developing a project that benefits the surrounding neighborhoods and supports affordable housing, Continuum and the city chose to ignore our concerns with the project and push forward with approvals.”

LTCC’s concerns with the mega-development include, but are not limited to:

? Dramatically increased density and building heights than the surrounding neighborhood, exacerbating land values and making it more expensive in the future to acquire land and build affordable housing in and around Little Tokyo, which will further gentrification in and around this already at-risk cultural community.

? Providing only the bare minimum of affordable housing (exact details still yet to be provided by the developer), while a majority of residential units will remain luxury market-rate rents, well out of reach for existing residents in the neighborhood and for most Angelenos.

? No contribution to the development of safe bike and pedestrian infrastructure to connect the project to the Metro Regional Connector station and/or the L.A. River Bikeway. Therefore, any bike lanes and sidewalk improvements along these connections will be paid for by Los Angeles taxpayers.

? Demolition and construction required for a project of this size will create significant air quality and noise impacts on nearby residents, businesses, senior housing, preschools and places of worship that have provided local services for over 100 years.

Fukushima added that on top of Continuum’s failure to follow through on its commitments and lack of meaningful engagement with community stakeholders, interaction with city staff has also been deficient. She said the community was not given advance notice of the project’s public hearing on the Final EIR slated for Nov. 20.

“This is, sadly, another example of public planning processes and private real estate development ignoring and perpetuating the same systemic harms on lower-income communities of color,” said Grant Sunoo, director of community building and engagement at Little Tokyo Service Center. “Little Tokyo has endured multiple waves of displacement, harm and erasure – from the wholesale uprooting and imprisonment during World War II, city-led eminent domain and redevelopment, and we’re now seeing gentrification pushing out legacy businesses.”

Little Tokyo is one of only three remaining Japantowns in the nation and was recently declared one of the country’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

LTCC is organizing community members and friends in communities across Los Angeles to support Little Tokyo by submitting opposition comment letters on the project to the city or voicing opposition at the project’s public hearing via web conference on Nov. 20. For more details on how you can support, visit https://littletokyola.org/4thcentral.

Articles for you