Little Tokyo residents will soon have a place to exercise in their own neighborhood.
Little Tokyo Service Center announced it will soon break ground on its long-stalled sports center, Terasaki Budokan, named after a philanthropist and scientist whose foundation donated $3.5 million to the project, Los Angeles Downtown News reported.
The 35-foot-high, one-story development at 237-249 S. Los Angeles St. features a gym for basketball, volleyball and martial arts; a rooftop terrace and community rooms. The LTSC reached a 50-year lease agreement with the city for a one-acre parcel near the former St. Vibiana’s Cathedral.
LTSC began planning its recreation center in the 1980s, after the community and local Japanese-American sports leagues raised concerns about their struggles to find gym space.The LTSC has fundraised roughly $24.3 million over the past two decades. It still needs $700,000 to reach its budget.
Alan Kosaka, chair of the Budokan capital campaign, expects the remainder to be raised through grassroots donations. Budokan has a tentative opening date in early 2019. [DTN] – Naiwen Tian