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For nearly a century, the name Umeya was synonymous with celebration in Japanese American households \u2014 the go-to brand for crisp, soy sauce-glazed rice crackers shared with loved ones.<\/p>\n
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One of the most popular Umeya snacks were senbei crackers cut in the shape of sakura<\/p>\n
Now the same factory site in downtown L.A. where tiny crackers shaped like cherry blossoms used to come off the line has been redeveloped into affordable housing for hundreds, many of whom used to be unhoused.<\/p>\n
The Little Tokyo Service Center has transformed the site on Towne Avenue into The Umeya<\/a>, a 175-unit affordable and permanent supportive housing complex that opened this fall. About 130 units of the white gleaming building on the edge of Little Tokyo and Skid Row are already occupied, with residents continuing to move in.<\/p>\n Former LA factory of famed Japanese cracker brand has a new life<\/p>\n Timothy Mason was among the first arrivals. After nine years of living outside \u2014 in tents, abandoned homes and RVs \u2014 he remembers the first night he spent in his studio on the fourth floor.<\/p>\n \u201cI sat on this bed and I damn near cried for like two hours,\u201d Mason said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe that this is mine.\u201d<\/p>\n The former Umeya factory has been replaced by 175 units of affordable housing.<\/p>\n The Umeya sits on the edge of Little Tokyo and Skid Row.<\/p>\n (<\/p>\n Little Tokyo Service Center<\/p>\n )<\/p>\n Inside his furnished studio, a small table doubles as a study desk. Mason is back in school at East Los Angeles College, working toward degrees in addiction studies and psychology.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have to worry if the city\u2019s going to come and take my tent, or where I\u2019m gonna get my next meal, or my next shower,\u201d Mason said. \u201cThe only worry now is am I gonna study for this exam today or not?”<\/p>\n When fully occupied, the building will house around 250 to 300 people, a mix of working adults, retirees and families. <\/p>\n Tenants typically pay no more than 30% of their income, whether from work or public assistance, according to the non-profit. Apartments for formerly unhoused residents getting on-site support services rent in the range of $700-800.<\/p>\n A family legacy<\/p>\n The redevelopment has deep roots in Little Tokyo\u2019s story. The family representative of the Hamanos who ran the Umeya Rice Cake Co., approached LTSC in 2016 \u2014 about a year before its shutdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cRex Hamano said his family wanted to remain connected to Little Tokyo, even though the neighborhood had changed,\u201d said Takao Suzuki, the nonprofit\u2019s co-executive director. \u201cHe also thought that LTSC would be good stewards to carry on the Little Tokyo tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n Members of the Hamano family that founded the Umeya brand pose in an undated portrait.<\/p>\n (<\/p>\n Japanese American National Museum (Gift of the Hamano Family)<\/p>\n )<\/p>\n Suzuki said the family could have fetched more for the property from a market-rate developer but chose to sell to the nonprofit for about $8 million. <\/p>\n The residential complex, which cost about $106 million in total, is the first brand-new multifamily affordable housing development LTSC has built since 1996, Suzuki said.<\/p>\n Bridging the gap<\/p>\n Beyond honoring the past, Suzuki said the project has strengthened ties between Little Tokyo and Skid Row. Historically, he said, there’s been tensions between the neighborhoods, with Little Tokyo business owners worried about the effects of homelessness and public safety on their neighborhood.<\/p>\n \u201cWe kind of felt like it was our moral obligation to try to not just build affordable housing, but to use the space as a way to bridge the two communities further,\u201d Suzuki said.<\/p>\n LTSC has located most of its homeless services team at Umeya and forged partnerships with local Skid Row artists through the Los Angeles Poverty Department<\/a> as well as with nearby service providers like Downtown Women’s Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n A little girl poses in an undated photo with gift boxes of Umeya rice snacks. <\/p>\n (<\/p>\n Japanese American National Museum<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n Gift of the Hamano Family, courtesy of the Japanese American National Museum <\/p>\n )<\/p>\n To remember the site\u2019s Little Tokyo ties, Umeya signage salvaged by construction crews after the factory was razed with all but the original footings will be featured in a timeline exhibit in the building\u2019s lobby.<\/p>\n The Japanese American National Museum, which was gifted artifacts from the Hamano family, will collaborate with the service center on the exhibit.<\/p>\n Building more than housing<\/p>\n The opening of the Umeya marks a period of growth for LTSC. The organization currently manages 26 residential properties, nearly all affordable, with about 500 more units under construction across Los Angeles \u2014 from Chinatown to Boyle Heights to Long Beach.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a busy time for us,\u201d said Suzuki, who became co\u2013executive director just two months ago. \u201cHousing is harder and harder to build, but projects like Umeya show what\u2019s possible when community and legacy come together.\u201d<\/p>\n Timothy Mason has started cooking again in his new studio apartment at the Umeya in downtown L.A.<\/p>\n Mason said having a yearlong lease at Umeya has not only given him stability, but has him thinking of life beyond it.<\/p>\n \u201cLife is about evolving, elevating, pushing yourself to higher limits,\u201d he said. \u201cI want a house one day.\u201d<\/p>\n On his refrigerator are certificates he earned while in rehab and outpatient treatment for years of crystal meth and PCP use.<\/p>\n Timothy Mason uses his studio apartment as a place to study toward becoming an addiction counselor.<\/p>\n He now has a custodial license and is a registered alcohol and drug technician. Walking around the ground floor of the building, he points to a community room that isn\u2019t open yet. When it is, he has a plan.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to start a Narcotics Anonymous meeting here,\u201d he said. \u201cTo see another person recover like I did \u2014 you\u2019re saving a life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keep up with LAist. If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. 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