First North Residences will bring 248 affordable housing units, including 80 permanent supportive housing apartments, to Los Angeles.
First North Residences will bring 248 affordable housing units, including 80 permanent supportive housing apartments, to Los Angeles.

Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) and Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC) have broken ground on one of the largest 100% affordable housing developments in Los Angeles.

The mixed-use complex will feature 248 affordable housing units, legacy businesses, and a permanent home for GFBNEC, a nonprofit that educates the public on the valor of Japanese-American soldiers during World War II.

The First North Residences and the Go For Broke Plaza is being developed in the Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles.

Eighty of the units will serve as 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 small businesses, including the 120-plus-year-old Fugetsu-do Confectionary, Suehiro Cafe, and other longtime establishments.

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

“Go For Broke” was the motto of the 442nd unit composed of Japanese-Americans. The term was Hawaiian slang for “shooting the works” or risking everything for the big win in gambling—as the Japanese-American soldiers did while fighting in the war and facing prejudice at home in the United States.

The total development cost is approximately $168 million and encompasses three separate financing structures to create the affordable homes, retail space, and 20,000 square feet of green space.

U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance is a major partner, serving as the investor for 9% and 4% low-income housing tax credits and New Markets Tax Credits, according to LTSC, a longtime social service and community development organization.

Other funding partners include the state Department of Housing and Community Development, Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles Economic and Workforce Development Department, Century Housing, Genesis LA, Los Angeles Development Fund, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, and private and philanthropic contributions.