Casa Heiwa Grand Opening
On October 10th at 10:30 am, Little Tokyo welcomed Casa Heiwa, a new affordable housing complex, to its community. The Grand Opening Ceremony for Casa Heiwa, or "Harmony House," (Casa is Spanish for house, Heiwa is Japanese for Harmony), was a multi-cultural one, with entertainment ranging from taiko drummers to a Mexican trio of singer-guitarists, and food ranging from taquitos to manju. There were many familiar faces as people from Little Tokyo were there to celebrate and join in the festivities.
Political officials and funder representatives spoke at the gathering, as well as Al Taira and Darrell Daniel from our very own community. Fugetsu-do and Mikawaya, both favorite local sweetshops, provided dessert to the catered lunch. Mikawaya donated all of the ice-cream filled mochi, and Fugetsu-do offered generously priced manju to Little Tokyo Service Center Community Development Corporation (LTSC CDC), the organization which sponsored the event.
LTSC CDC, the development arm of Casa Heiwa, was spurred into the role of builder ten years ago, when 184 low-income apartments at the Alan Hotel and Masago Hotel were destroyed on the very same block Casa Heiwa is now located, to make way for shopping centers and hotels which were never built. The LTSC social workers realized that there was no place for the displaced residents to go, seeing them homeless or beaten up in Skid Row. Thus, came one of LTSC’s goals of replacing the units which were lost.
As part of the process of designing Casa Heiwa, LTSC worked with over 40 community focus groups to get a better understanding of the needs and desires of future residents. Casa Heiwa became a 6 year, $17 million project with 100 affordable units ranging from studios to 4 bedroom apartments, and providing housing to very low income disabled, seniors, and downtown’s working families. On-site amenities offered by Casa Heiwa include landscaped courtyards and atriums with barbecues, vegetable garden, tot lot, and basketball court. A subsidized childcare center for its residents and local neighbors will be offered as well. By the beginning of 1997, Casa Heiwa will be bringing about 300 new friends and customers to the Little Tokyo area.
LTSC CDC would like to thank Little Tokyo for the warm welcome extended to Casa Heiwa and for making the Grand Opening a success!
[ Little Tokyo News * Volume 1 Issue 1 ]