Projects

Sustainable Little Tokyo Revisioning

SLT has updated our Community Vision 2013 for what we want built on the First Street North (FSN) and Mangrove blocks—the last remaining pieces of publicly-owned land in Little Tokyo! We have learned a lot over the past 7 years, and it's time to expand our vision for a culturally, economically, and environmentally sustainable Little Tokyo for future generations!

  • Celeste Shimoura Goedert, Project Director, Sustainable Little Tokyo

    cshimouragoedert@jaccc.org

  • Sustainable Little Tokyo is a community-driven initiative working to ensure a healthy, equitable, and culturally rich Little Tokyo for generations to come.

Toriumi Plaza

SLT has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to embark on a community-engaged, arts-based visioning process for the future of Toriumi Plaza. The hope is to create a new, welcoming space that provides much needed community open space for activations, events, and more. The community engagement will begin in 2024.

  • Celeste Shimoura Goedert, Project Director, Sustainable Little Tokyo

    cshimouragoedert@jaccc.org

  • Sustainable Little Tokyo is a community-driven initiative working to ensure a healthy, equitable, and culturally rich Little Tokyo for generations to come.

Sustainable Little Tokyo

Sustainable Little Tokyo is a community-driven initiative working to ensure a healthy, equitable, and culturally rich Little Tokyo for generations to come. SLT began in 2013 as a multi-day community vision effort and has evolved into a holistic, neighborhood-wide campaign to promote the environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability of Little Tokyo.

  • Celeste Shimoura Goedert, Project Director, Sustainable Little Tokyo

    cshimouragoedert@jaccc.org

  • For more information on Sustainable Little Tokyo visit the official website.

Mangrove + the 1st/Central Metro Regional Connector station

The 1st/Central Metro Regional Connector station site and Mangrove are two of the three pieces of public land in the SLT Community Vision. After releasing their selected developer in 2020 due to community concerns, the City of Los Angeles and Metro agreed in 2021 on a joint development process for both parcels of land, as a partnership between the agencies. LTCC is working closely with our City partners on this new process, which will include a 2-step RFP process on the development.

  • Updates regarding this project will be made at the following meetings:

    LTCC Planning & Cultural Preservation Committee

    LTCC General Meeting

    For LTCC meeting information, please reference our meeting schedule or contact Kristin at kristin@littletokyola.org

  • Kristin Fukushima

    kristin@littletokyola.org

  • Sustainable Little Tokyo is a community-driven initiative working to ensure a healthy, equitable, and culturally rich Little Tokyo for generations to come.

    After pushing Metro to release the contracted developer in 2020, Metro is now working with the City and the Little Tokyo Community to develop the two parcels in tandem.

  • LTCC Project Folder with visions and updates

  • Updated Site Vision

4th/Central Cold Storage

The 4th and Central project is a large development being proposed at the edge of Little Tokyo. It covers 7.5 acres and will be mixed use, with 10 buildings ranging in size from 6 to 44 stories tall.

My First Street North (#MYFSN)

Located behind Japanese American National Museum, Far Bar, Fugetsu-Do, and more, First Street North is one of the last 3 remaining pieces of land that can be controlled by the community. LTCC and SLT worked with our councilmember & community to get community control of First Street North so that it could be developed for and by Little Tokyo! This project is expected to break ground in early 2024, developed by our friends at the Little Tokyo Service Center and the Go For Broke National Education Center.

West Santa Ana Branch Transit Line

Metro is proposing a new train line to come through Little Tokyo, starting in Artesia and terminating at Union Station. After pressure from LTCC and the Little Tokyo community, Metro has moved the project to be completely underground through Little Tokyo, traveling underneath Alameda with a proposed stop at 2nd/Alameda. In 2024, the Metro staff will return with their report and recommendations.

Go Little Tokyo

A one-stop shop for the Little Tokyo events calendar, self-guided tours, parking, directions, and more! Go Little Tokyo is LTCC's community marketing campaign funded by Metro to promote the neighborhood and mitigate construction impacts from the Metro Regional Connector.

  • Kisa Ito, Project Director, Go Little Tokyo

    kisa@littletokyola.org

  • For more information visit the Go Little Tokyo about page.

Little Tokyo Festa

Little Tokyo Festa (LT Festa) is an event organized by ARMY for ARMY, 100% volunteer-led, to celebrate the debut anniversary of BTS and support local Asian American and other small businesses in the 138-year-old historic Little Tokyo neighborhood. LT Festa was hosted in June 2021 and July 2022, and hopefully will make a reappearance when Bangtan reunites in 2025 💜.

  • Contact the Little Tokyo Festa team at littletokyofesta@gmail.com

  • Follow LT Festa on Instagram and Facebook. Check our the 2022 page for information about this year’s celebration.

Haunted Little Tokyo

Ghouls, ghosts, and goblins of all ages are invited to experience Little Tokyo like never before for Haunted Little Tokyo! Since 2017, Haunted Little Tokyo has brought Halloween festivities including pumpkin patches, ghostly games, Japanese yurei, free movie screenings, ‘haunted’ walking tours, and an annual frightfully-fun block party to the neighborhood. In 2024, the Haunted Little Tokyo Block Party will be on Saturday, October 26, with other activities TBA.

  • Haunted Little Tokyo Committee

    haunted@littletokyola.org

    James Choi, james@cafedulce.co

  • For more information visit the Haunted Little Tokyo page.

Regional Connector Community Celebration

In celebration of the opening of the Metro Regional Connector Little Tokyo / Arts District Station and in partnership with Metro + Tuesday Night Project, the Community Celebration was hosted in September 2023. Visitors participated in walking tours, hosted workshops, and a special live performance featuring local community artists. Little Tokyo is accessible via Metro on the new E line!

Continuing Projects

LTCC is constantly working on a number of projects. Here is just some of what we are currently working on. To get involved or learn more, email info@littletokyola.org, or attend a meeting!

  • New Developments: Public, private & community projects including Cold Storage and more

  • Street Improvements: Vision Zero, Metro TIGER Grant & Active Transportation Project

  • Public Art: Little Tokyo Towers Mural, FSN development’s public art, 2nd/Alameda ATP Public Art

  • Community Protocols: CUP Protocol, Good Neighbor Policy, SLT Public Art Guidelines

  • City Projects: DTLA 2040, Al Fresco Ordinance, Legacy Business Program, Civic Center Masterplan

  • Organizing and Neighbors: West Santa Ana Branch

  • Learn more about past and existing projects in our community project folder.