According to city officials, Japantown Bowl was a popular entertainment fixture for Japantown residents for 24 years. When the bowling center's owner, Kintetsu Enterprises Co. of America, decided to sell, due to the fact that it was not making enough money, the community struggled to save the bowling alley. However, Kintetsu sold anyway.
The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, in partnership with Southern California-based developer Kaji and Associates, proposed to buy the Japantown Bowl for $6.7 million, with the intention of maintaining it as a bowling alley for at least three years and then reevaluating the business. Kintetsu rejected their proposal.
Kuroyama LLC, headed by Japanese American attorney George Yamasaki, Jr., entered into negotiations with Kintetsu, offering $7.05 million, with plans to turn the building into a mixed retail/office complex. This deal fell through.
In a deal that surprised residents, John McInerney, a city Board of Appeals commissioner, bought the 1790 Post St. property from Kintetsu for an undisclosed price. Several sources say that the property was bought for less than $7 million. McInerney proposed building a 48-unit residential complex that includes condominiums and 3,000-sf of commercial space.
Japantown residents disputed this development, saying that a community project should replace the bowling alley. This dispute was settled at Tuesday's San Francisco Redevelopment Commission meeting, when the agency voted 5-2 to approve McInerney's multi-million condominium project, which officials say will benefit the community.
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