Honor Award Story

Honor Award Story. Japanese Village Plaza. In April 1980, a National Honor Award was given to Japanese Village Plaza, a shopping center of, by and for the small merchants of Little Tokyo. , In its eighth biennial awards program, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), considered more than 350 entries from cities throughout the nation. Japanese Village Plaza was one of five chosen for a National Honor Award in Urban Design Administration. , This award was presented by HUD Secretary, Moon Landrieu during the Urban Environment Design Conference of the National League of Cities. , The award was accepted on behalf of Japanese Village Plaza by David Hyun, Chairman. Also attending the ceremonies were Councilman Gilbert Lindsay's Deputy, Tony Chew and CRA commissioner, Howard Nishimura. , The story of Japanese Village Plaza began in early 1970 when Little Tokyo was in the process of urban decay. Many Japanese residents had moved away to the suburbs and made only periodic visits to Little Tokyo to taste of ancestral foods, language and customs. , To fight urban blight, the merchants of Little Tokyo established a Community Redevelopment Project through the City of Los Angeles. , For five years efforts to build a community shopping center could not succeed. Community resentment grew. Buildings had been demolished. Old shops had been displaced. Businessmen were bitter. , In 1976, "Mom and Pop" storeowners organized a new partnership under the leadership of Architect/Developer, David Hyun. This new partnership received help from Mayor Tom Bradley, Councilman Gilbert W. Lindsay, the City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, the Little Tokyo Business Association and the Little Tokyo Community Development Advisory Committee. Federal funding programs supported the project. , Construction and permanent financing was granted by the Bank of America and Occidental Life Insurance. , This new combination of small merchants, large private enterprise, community, city and federal agencies succeeded. The project was organized, designed, financed, constructed, leased and had its Grand Opening in October 1978, 18 months after agreement of land purchase. , In making the award, HUD cited this "successful private endeavor had city cooperation but not city control." The HUD awards jury found "it is possible to leave the project in the hands of the private sector yet achieve strong public goals, including neighborhood revitalization and preserving local identity." , HUD praised the 22 merchants for initiative and selection of a General Partner to speed design and construction and to avoid conflicts. The General Partner in charge was David Hyun. HUD noted the ways in which David Hyun and five other General Partners assisted poorer merchants and worked with the community to invest in their own shopping center. , This story of the Honor Award is a story of how small merchants of limited resources can organize, design, construct and operate a shopping center with the help of community, city and the United States Government.