The Little Tokyo Community’s Opposition to the 4th & Central Cold Storage Project

RE: 500 South Central Ave (364-448 and 425-433 South Central Avenue; 715 and 730 East 4th Street) aka the Fourth and Central Project 

Case Number(s): CPC-2021-4069-GPAJ-VZCJ-HD-CU-MCUP-SPR-HCA, VTT-82974-CN-HCA

Environmental Case Number: ENV-2021-4071-EIR

Dear Councilmember Jurado, 

On behalf of the Little Tokyo community, we wish to reiterate our opposition to the Fourth and Central project (the Project). We, the undersigned, are in support of the Little Tokyo Community Council’s formal position of opposition to this project, voted on by LTCC’s board and membership in November 2024.  We would like to ask for your support to ensure this development provides tangible community benefits to the Little Tokyo and Skid Row communities.

As one of three remaining historic Japantowns left in the country, Little Tokyo celebrated 140 years in 2024. It has faced a century of adversities, including the forced imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the demolition of buildings for city projects, urban renewal efforts, and most recently the gentrification of the Downtown area. 

Today, Little Tokyo is home to over 400 small businesses, including 51 legacy businesses, as well as 7 churches and temples, and 50+ community organizations and institutions. The neighborhood is also home to many low-income Japanese American seniors and families, while also serving as ‘home’ for the broader Japanese/Japanese American community in Southern California and beyond. Increasing pressures of gentrification, development, and displacement led to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to nameLittle Tokyo as one of 11 Most Endangered Places in America in 2024. It therefore is imperative to continue the fight to protect, preserve, and promote the character and values this neighborhood has. The proposed Project continues to raise many concerns for the Little Tokyo community and its stakeholders.  This Project is putting Little Tokyo in danger, once again. 

The Denver-based developer, Continuum Partners, is proposing a project totaling 2.3 million square feet across 1.5 blocks and 10 different buildings, comprising 1,589 mostly luxury residential units, 411,000 square feet of office space, and 145,000 square feet of restaurant/retail space. The developer has committed to provide only the bare minimum of affordable housing legally required. 

We are asking for your support for the Little Tokyo community and our opposition to the Project. We urge you to temporarily halt any further progress in the Project’s entitlement process and require Continuum Partners to address our community’s concerns as articulated below.  

While we have our concerns with traffic/parking, lack of adequate public space, and zoning changes, our biggest concerns remain in the scale and density of the project, and the risk of displacement and gentrification that this project will generate. Importantly, considering the developer's extensive entitlement requests, the project offers minimal benefits to the surrounding communities, who will disproportionately bear the brunt of its negative impacts. 

1. Meaningful Community Participation: This project will have an indelible effect on the neighborhoods in which it is situated.  As low-income communities of color, these neighborhoods have been negatively impacted by historic City planning processes which have not taken into account the needs of our communities.  Furthermore, this developer is requesting significant concessions from the City in the form of entitlement requests.  

Given the magnitude of entitlement requests that the developer is requesting from the City, it is reasonable to expect that they will work closely with local community members. 

For the past four years, our community has tried to work with the developers, but these attempts have fallen flat. Continuum Partners have postponed and canceled numerous meetings with community stakeholders.  In fact, we have not heard from them since Fall 2024, despite attempts to bring them to the table.  This lack of communication and engagement leads us to conclude that there is a lack of interest in meaningfully engaging with us or developing a project that considers our needs and concerns. 

The sole material change that Continuum Partners made to the project was a reduction in height of one building.  However, this was done in a vacuum, without communication with us, and does not fully respond to our concerns regarding density and height of the project. 

2. Increase Affordable Housing:  The City should require this project to provide a minimum of 31% affordable housing targeted towards those who are most vulnerable. Little Tokyo’s housing consists of approximately 31% affordable housing at a very low income affordability level. The Project should at least match that amount to maintain the existing percentage of affordable housing in Little Tokyo. Small legacy businesses like Suehiro Cafe have been forced to close due to rising prices. As property values increase, the risk of displacement is high, and the Project doesn’t do enough to address this. 

Furthermore, the Project sits directly across the street from the DTLA 2040 IXI use district, which requires developments to provide 80% affordable units. This is a sign that the City recognizes the intense need for affordable housing in this area – and an indication that the project exists in the context of extraordinary circumstances which merit aggressive treatment.   

3. Reduce Density: This project should be compliant with DTLA 2040’s density requirements.  The developer says the project fits with the new DTLA 2040 plan, but that is simply untrue. The project’s size and density far exceed what’s allowed by DTLA 2040.  For the City to allow a development of such size and cost with minimal affordable housing offered directly adjacent to an IX1 area is poor zoning practice and does not serve the wants or needs of the adjacent neighborhood population. The FAR should be reduced from 7.13:1 to at least 5.98:1 FAR to be consistent with what would be allowed for the project as proposed under DTLA 2040.  

Further, it is important to note that under DTLA 2040, this project would only be able to achieve a maximum density of 6.44:1 by providing community benefits that are far greater than what is currently being offered by Continuum Partners. 

The City has stated that this Project “would enhance the livability of the adjacent neighborhood by developing the Project Site with a high-quality mix of uses that would eliminate blight, provide a safe environment…” (Response to ORG 1B-10). Our community does not believe the Project would enhance our livability nor provide Little Tokyo with a safe environment. This claim tells us that the City is prioritizing their values and vision of the land, does not consider the effects this Project will have on neighboring communities, and believes they know what is best for our neighborhood. 

In conclusion, the Little Tokyo community is overwhelmingly opposed to many aspects of this project.  It is completely out of context with the all surrounding communities and the lack of engagement that Continuum Partners has had with our community is egregious and leaves us no choice but to oppose the project outright unless further considerations are made. We urge you to halt further progress on the entitlements process until a robust and enforceable community benefits plan is in place.  

Thank you for your consideration of these comments.  

Signed,