Rendering of Go For Broke Plaza and FIrst Street North Residences

Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) and Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC) are set to break ground on the Go For Broke Plaza and First Street North Residences, a significant mixed-use, multi-story complex featuring 248 units of affordable housing, legacy businesses and a permanent home for GFBNEC.

Slated for completion by the end of 2026, the project will be developed adjacent to the Go For Broke Monument in Little Tokyo. The transit-oriented development will be one of Los Angeles’ largest 100% affordable housing developments.

The project creates 248 affordable housing units, 80 of which are permanent supportive units for unhoused people, with units set aside for homeless veterans. The ground floor along Jackson Street will feature approximately 40,000 square feet of retail space prioritizing community-serving commercial spaces for Little Tokyo legacy small businesses, including 120+-year-old Fugetsu-do Confectionery, Suehiro Cafe, and other long-time establishments.

The courtyard creates urban green space and thru-block pedestrian linkages and honors the neighborhood’s distinctive history by embracing the existing Go For Broke monument, which pays tribute to the World War II American veterans of Japanese ancestry who served in the highly decorated 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service.

As Little Tokyo celebrates its 140th anniversary, this project meaningfully reclaims land the neighborhood lost to the city by eminent domain during the urban renewal period of the 1950s and has since sat vacant. Located mere yards away from a major assembly point for World War II incarceration camps, this project both honors the community’s unique history and creates a significant foothold for the sustainability of Little Tokyo’s future.

Project information: www.LTSC.org/fsn_residences

The groundbreaking will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 9 a.m. at the Go For Broke Monument, 160 N. Central Ave. near Temple and Alameda. Self-parking is available at 101 Judge John Aiso St.

Scheduled to participate are Lourdes Castro Ramirez, chief housing and homeless officer, City of Los Angeles; Kevin de León, member of the Los Angeles City Council; Erich Nakano, executive director, LTSC; Dr. Mitchell T. Maki, president and CEO, GFBNEC; Debbie Chen, director of real estate development, LTSC; World War II veterans Ed Nakamura (MIS), Yoshio Nakamura (442ndRCT) and Tokuji Yoshihashi (100thBattalion).