Preservationists and councilmember plead with San Jose to assist relocate historic Japanese farmhouse

Whereas San Jose has accepted naming a brand new park after Eiichi Edward Sakauye on the web site of his household’s former farmstead, Councilmember Rosemary Kamei and preservationists are pleading with town to do extra to honor his legacy and Japanese-American historical past, together with serving to facilitate the relocation of the Sakauye farmhouse to Historical past Park because the deadline to maneuver the construction looms later this yr.

Historical past Park CEO Invoice Schroh stated his group has raised roughly $430,000 towards the estimated $700,000 to $800,000 wanted to maneuver the farmhouse by the November 2025 deadline. Nevertheless, after making an attempt to establish grant funding over the previous a number of months to assist offset the remaining prices, Schroh and Kamei criticized town administration for poor communication and a perceived lack of transparency, which hindered their efforts.

“This is a historic legacy that is not going to come back,” Kamei instructed town administration on Tuesday. “We already decided we can’t do it on the property for whatever reason (and) we’re going to move it over. Help me move it over.”

San Jose accepted The Hanover Co., SummerHill Houses and The Pacific Cos. challenge in August that can remodel the 22.88-acre parcel on the intersection of Seely Avenue and Montague Expressway right into a sprawling mixed-use city village that can add 1,472 housing items, 18,965 sq. ft of retail and a 2.5-acre park.

Earlier than the builders bought the property, the land belonged to the Sakuaye Household, which had continued to function one of many final remaining farms in Silicon Valley earlier than selecting to promote it.

Eiichi Sakauye, who handed away in 2005, turned a distinguished determine within the agricultural group. He additionally holds the popularity as the one Japanese-American in San Jose to reclaim property after he was incarcerated in an internment camp in Wyoming throughout World Warfare II.

Together with Sakuaye’s title adorning the park, builders will erect a commemorative plaza in his honor.

In acknowledging the lack of the farmland, District 4 Councilmember David Cohen, who represents the world, acknowledged that the challenge would deliver much-needed housing and public facilities that North San Jose has been missing.

“These are amenities North San Jose deserves like other parts of the city,” Cohen stated.

As growth plans emerged, preservationists had sought to protect the Sakauye Household’s farmhouse on the positioning earlier than a call was made to relocate it to Historical past Park, which already reveals migrant employee cabins. Along with the estimated $700,000 to $800,000 for relocating the farmhouse, the challenge additionally wants an extra $500,000 to $600,000 to renovate and preserve the construction.

Vanessa Hatakeyama, government director of the Japanese-American Museum of San Jose, stated the group wanted “more than symbolic approval” of the park, however as a substitute “meaningful partnership” from town, emphasizing that the Sakauye story delivered to life the agricultural contributions of Japanese-Individuals, the injustice of the internment camps throughout World Warfare II but in addition the “cross-racial allyship that helped preserve” their land.

“To date, this responsibility has fallen entirely on History San Jose, (the Japanese-American Museum of San Jose) and (Preservation Action Council of San Jose) without any direct financial support from the city,” Hatakeyama stated. “The Sakauye house and the historical interpretation of the park are more than just a structure or a playground. They are vessels and spaces of memories and powerful educational tools.”

However in keeping with Kamei and Schroh, points arose as they tried to discover potential funding alternatives from the Santa Clara County Open Area Authority.

Schroh stated town saved redirecting him to different departments on how one can apply for funding earlier than studying that town already had a precedence record for various initiatives it needed to make use of the cash for.

“The runaround the city gave me was disgraceful,” Schroh stated.

After Kamei expressed related sentiments — claiming that metropolis administration had not been clear along with her — Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Companies Director Jon Cicirelli disputed her characterization of occasions and stated he instructed Kamei particularly about initiatives his division had prioritized, together with one which additionally had cultural significance.

Metropolis Supervisor Jennifer Maguire and Deputy Metropolis Supervisor Angel Rios reiterated that metropolis workers are dedicated to discovering various funding sources, recognizing the significance of the farmhouse.

Rios stated town had already explored the potential use of development and conveyance tax funds, however that possibility didn’t pan out. He urged that town may discover different grants or contemplate tapping into the philanthropic group.

“What we can’t do at this point is guarantee that we’re going to be able to — by this timeline – come up with the up to $1 million to make this happen,” Rios stated. “(Based on) past history, we typically work with other organizations to secure this type of move, but I want to be very clear that we are definitely in support of the councilmember’s vision and idea to make this happen. The struggle right now is how do we reconcile competing interests.”