Fourth and Central, a new development expected to transform a cold storage facility into a mixed-used apartment complex in downtown Los Angeles, will provide a community benefits agreement to improve Little Tokyo and Skid Row, officials announced Tuesday.
The Little Tokyo Community Council and city officials negotiated the agreement with developers to ensure that the project bolsters access to iconic sites such the Little Tokyo Galleria and meets the needs of the community. Initially, the community council campaigned against the development, but now supports it with the agreement in place.
Fourth and Central received approval from the City Council in late June.
Located on eight acres adjacent to the Little Tokyo/Arts District Metro station, Fourth & Central will consist of 1,521 apartment units, 400,000 square feet of office space, more than 100,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, and two acres of public open space across 10 buildings at the crossroads of Little Tokyo, Skid Row and the Arts District.
Cold storage facilities, parking lots and warehouses are currently at the site.
The project will be owned by the warehouse company Los Angeles Cold Storage. The Downtown Women’s Center will be the service provider for residents.
The master plan for the site proposes a total of 10 buildings, ranging in height from two to 30 stories. When completed, the project will provide a minimum of 262 affordable units at extremely low- and very low-income levels, according to the developers.
On Tuesday, the Little Tokyo Community Council said their members opposed the original plan, which called for a 44-story tower. That design faced widespread opposition and concerns about its scale, lack of affordability and displacement impacts.
Through the community benefits agreement, the community council said it reduced the project’s floor area ratio from 7.1 to 6.5, limiting the height and density of the buildings.
Additionally, the agreement established more extremely low-income affordable housing requirements, created permanent space for community-serving businesses and organizations rooted in Little Tokyo and Skid Row, and new safeguards and public oversight for alcohol permits with the creation of an Alcohol Advisory Group.
The project is also expected to contain pedestrian pathways to the Little Tokyo Galleria, and will be on the same block as Centenary United Methodist Church and Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple.
“Today, Little Tokyo has become a focal point for new development because it is such a vibrant and culturally rich neighborhood, and it’s become one of the most sought-after areas in downtown Los Angeles,” Little Tokyo Community Council Executive Director Kristin Fukushima said in a statement.
“But that visibility and economic momentum has also made us vulnerable. Without deep protections, this growth risks displacing the very small legacy businesses, cultural institutions, and longtime residents that have made Little Tokyo what it is,” Fukushima added.
City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who represents Little Tokyo and Skid Row, said the community benefits agreement came after months of negotiations, and will help to make the project a “community-guided development.”
“For generations, Little Tokyo and Skid Row have shaped the history, culture, and identity of this city while too often being excluded from decisions about their own future,” Jurado said in a statement. “This effort is about changing that legacy — using public action to ensure that growth in downtown creates housing, community-serving spaces, economic opportunity, and lasting benefits for the people who have built and sustained these neighborhoods.”
Fukushima said the agreement is part of a broader mission to preserve and protect Little Tokyo, which was named as one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in the country in 2024. It’s also meant to address the loss of small businesses driven by rising rents and the need for more affordable housing in the area.