Most of Japantown's commercial space is suddenly on the market "prompting concerns that the historic district could lose its unique character." Unfortunately it doesn't have much character. A shopping center built forty years ago on Japanese models, it's a blandly confusing retail experience for Westerners and probably a tired one for most Japanese. Certainly it's not the Sony Metreon, built on Asian models of multi-story entertainment, food and retail.
It needs new owners, sensitive to the fragile past of the Japanese in Northern California and with the cash to make it a destination again. As for the hotels, best-use probably means turning them into condos.
· Cultural Center for Sale [SF Chronicle]