Metro to Use Eminent Domain for Little Tokyo Site
“The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is moving forward with eminent domain proceedings in the effort to acquire a Little Tokyo property where the agency plans to build a station for the Regional Connector.
The agency has long planned to acquire the parcel bounded by Alameda and First streets and Central Avenue, but it has not been able to reach an agreement with property owner Robert Davies Volk. Volk’s family has owned the plot since the late 1880s, he said.
Metro has not disclosed the price it offered for the land, which includes three commercial buildings. They are home to the to-be-displaced restaurants Spice Table and Señor Fish, and Weiland’s Brewery, which closed June 30. Metro’s offer was based on a comprehensive appraisal, said Velma Marshall, Metro deputy executive director of real estate.”
Valliancourt, Ryan. Los Angeles Downtown News 5 July 2013.